Newly appointed Minister of Sports and Recreation, Kofi Adams says Ghana’s sports sector is facing serious challenges, but it’s not dead yet.
According to Adams in an interview with Michael Kofi Oduro on Metro TV, the main hurdles include the lack of funding, corruption, and a shortage of professionals.
“Sports in the country is not dead but facing serious challenges. Funding has not been good. And where funding has been made available also, corruption has taken the center stage of these funds. There is also the lack of professionals in various sports fields, hindering growth.”
The Member of Parliament for the Buem Constituency noted that media coverage is focused primarily on a few popular sports, such as football, boxing, athletics and volleyball, while neglecting others.
“While there are numerous media platforms covering sports, the focus tends to be on just a few popular sports like football, boxing, athletics, volleyball, and hockey. And there are times if you bring some of those sports even, there is not a single media house that has someone who understands that sport and can talk about it,” he said.
To address these issues, Adams proposes improving sports education through specialized training programs: “We need to focus on developing professionals who specialize in various sports disciplines, ensuring that experts are available to provide in-depth knowledge of each sport, its rules, and its governance.”
He continued: “This is why President Mahama’s vision of creating a University dedicated to sports is so important. It will allow for training in areas such as sports medicine, nutrition, management, business, promotion, and media. By doing so, we can move away from the idea that former athletes can automatically become coaches without proper training, and instead foster a professional approach to sports development.
Kofi Adams noted that, historically, many coaches were former athletes who believed their experience alone qualified them to teach others, but stressed that coaching requires a distinct set of skills.
“In the past, many people have become coaches simply because they were former athletes, assuming that experience alone is enough to teach the sport. However, there is a clear difference between practicing a sport and teaching it, and proper training is essential for coaching. Unfortunately, because we haven’t prioritized professional training in these fields, this has been the accepted approach,” he ended.
