New Faces In Sports Associations

Stand-in Minister of Youth and Sports, Hon. Addul-Rashid Pelpuo has charged chairmen and members of the reconstituted national sports association to esteem total commitment and devotion in their respective offices. At a grand inauguration of the reconstituted national sports associations at the Media Centre in Accra yesterday, the Sports Minister pointed out that the decision to reconstitute the bodies stems from the fact that Ghana has struggled to win laurels at the Olympics and international events in recent years. �Ghana has lagged behind in our quest to win anything between bronze and gold at the Olympics, hence the decision to revamp the associations,� said the minister. He tasked the chairmen and members of the various associations to change the direction of the sports, and urged them to �look beyond just participating and bring honours to the country.� Hon. Pelpuo revealed that because duties go with responsibilities, the chairmen and members should esteem sacrifice to make Ghana sports better in his era. The Minister urged the associations to launch deep into the hinterlands in their search for talents for the various disciplines. Some of the new faces in the tall list of the various associations are Mr. Ray Quarcoo, coming in for Solomon Ofei Darko as the chairman of the Amateur Boxing Association, Dr. Francis Dodoo, replacing Mr. Sandy Osei Agyemang as the athletics chairman, Mr. Samir Captan replaces Mr. Moses Foh-Amoaning as chairman of Ghana Boxing Authority, Hon. Ken Dzirazah replacing Mr. BT Baba as the chairman of handball association, Nii Lantey Vanderpuye as the new chairman for weightlifting, Mr. Yaw Ampofo Ankrah, as chairman of Beach Sports, among others. However, those who retained their positions include Messrs Oko Nikoi-Dzani for Hockey Association, Mr. D. Vanderpuye-Orgle for Cricket Association, Rev Albert Ocran, Netball Association and Mrs. Gifty Anan-Myers for Rugby Association, among others. In his response, on behalf of the other associations, Dr. Dodoo expressed gratitude for the honour and pledged to do their best.