Full Text: Ben Nunoo Mensah’s Full Speech at GOC AGM Congress

Address by the Ghana Olympics Committee (GOC) president, Mr. Ben Nunoo Mensah on the GOC Annual Congress at the Theodosia Okoh Hockey Stadium Conference centre on Saturday, January 25.

REPORT BY PRESIDENT OF THE GHANA OLYMPIC COMMITTEE/COMMONWEALTH GAMES ASSOCIATION-GHANA, MR BEN NUNOO MENSAH AT THE ANNUAL GENERAL ASSEMBLY ON SATURDAY, JANUARY 25, 2025, AT THE THEODOSIA OKOH JOCKEY STADIUM, ACCRA

Members of the Ghana Olympic Committee (GOC) and the Commonwealth Games Association-Ghana (CGA-Ghana),
Members of Olympic and Non-Olympic Sports gathered here,
Representatives from the Ministry of Sports and Recreation (MoSR) and the National Sports Authority (NSA),
Federation Heads and Representatives,
Delegates and Observers,
The Media,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Let me first wish you all a Happy and Prosperous New Year and it is my believe that same time next year we will all be gathered here again in good health to deliberate on the development of our athletes and the growth of Ghana Sports.

Once again, afehyiapa!
As we all know, the AGM, gives us the leaders of the Olympic movement and especially me as the President an opportunity to give an account of our stewardship to congress.

In April 2023, we gathered here as a family to discuss issues with regards to the development of our sports, and we are here again to plan, firm up and even add on to our success story.

As we meet today, I would like to take a moment to reflect on our accomplishments and challenges.

The past year has seen significant milestones, including Ghana’s hosting of the 13th African Games, Ghana’s participation in the Paris 2024 Olympics and the IOC Competition Manipulation Workshop. These achievements prove our commitment to promoting the Olympic values and excellence in sports.

However, we are also aware of the obstacles that lie ahead. As a nation, we face unique challenges in developing our sports infrastructure and supporting our athletes. Nevertheless, I am confident that together, we can overcome these hurdles and continue to make strides in promoting sports development in Ghana.

COMMONWEALTH GAMES FEDERATION (CGF) MEETING IN ACCRA

The Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) held its 2024 Regional meeting on the 16th & 17th March, 2024 at the Lancaster Hotel in Accra.
A delegation from the CGF made up of the President, Dr. Chris Jenkins OBE. Vice President Dr. Don Rukare. Regional Vice President Colonel Botsang Tshenyego. The CEO, Katie Sadleir. and the Regional Manager for Africa and Europe, Ms. Ezera Tshabangu arrived in Ghana on the 15th March, 2024.

The meeting had all the 24 Commonwealth countries in Africa being represented by the Presidents of their Commonwealth Games Association (CGA). It also had in attendance Nigeria’s Sports and Development Minister, Senator John Enoh as well as the Permanent Secretaries for Sports from six (6) African Countries.

The meeting was opened by Ghana’s Minister of Youth and Sports – Hon. Mustapha Ussif.

A Strategic Workshop held on the 17th March 2024 to discuss the various hosting strategies for African Countries planning to host future CGF events, programmes and games.

The CGF delegation paid courtesy calls on the Ga Mantse at his palace as well as the Minister for Sports in his office.
AFRICA WOMEN IN SPORTS ASSOCIATION (AWISA)
AWISA held its 4th Elective Congress here in Accra from the 7th to the 10th November, 2024 under the Theme: TO ENSURE EMPOWERMENT AND AGENDER EQUITY THROUGH AND PARTICIPATE IN CHANGE OF AFRICA WE WANT TO SEE.

The congress had in attendance the old Executives as well as representatives from its member countries in Africa.

Ghana’s Women in Sports (WISA) President Mrs. Joyce Mahama was elected as AWISA President for a four (4) year term.

Other elected officers are Ms. Grace Asiam (from Ghana) as Treasurer General and Ms. Hanna Bennin as AWISA Region 2 President.

AFRICAN OLYMPIC SPORTS CONFEDERATION (CASOL)

ANOCA together with all the African Sports Confederations and in collaboration with the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) held a meeting in Yaounde to establish the African Olympic Sports Confederation (CASOL) to coordinate and enhance the quality of games held in Africa.

A 10-man Executive Board chaired by Mr. Hamad Kalkaba Malboum was set up and includes Ghana’s African Baseball President Mr. Albert Frimpong.

The board has 6 months to put together a work plan for consideration by the ANOCA General Assembly.
13TH AFRICAN GAMES

Ghana had an opportunity to host the 13th edition of the African Games previously known as the All-African Games in March, 2024.

The first of its kind and we are grateful that most of the federation gave us some medals that boosted our standing on the medal table. Let me take this opportunity to congratulate all federations that took part in the Games and a big thank you to all our athletes that mounted the podium to put a smile on our faces. We finished sixth on the medal table with a total of 69 medals made up of 19 gold medals, 29 silver medals, and 21 bronze medals from nine disciplines. The breakdown is as below;

GOC’S SUPPORT FOR THE AFRICAN GAMES

Prior to the start of the 13th African Games, the Ghana Olympic Committee gave a total support of $30,000.00 to all the National Federations selected to take part in the African Games. ANOCA also presented cheque for the amount of $200,000.00 to support the organisation of the games.

2024 PARIS OLYMPIC GAMES

As you may be aware, Ghana took part in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games with President of the Ghana Tennis Federation who is also Deputy Treasurer of the GOC, Mr. Isaac Aboagye Duah as the Chef de Mission for the Games.

Although Ghana could not make it to the medal podium, a lot of lessons were learnt and we will take them in advisement including some recommendations and proposals from the CDM to improve our participation in future competitions.

Ghana’s participation in the Olympic Games was eased through the generous support and contributions of various institutions and partners, including the Ministry of Youth and Sports, the Ghana Olympic Committee (GOC), IOC Solidarity grants, the French Embassy in Ghana, Republic Bank, CREPS- Strasbourg and Horseman Shoes.

I will single out the French Embassy in Ghana, and CREPS-Strasbourg for their support in getting Team Ghana the pre-games facilities. We are very grateful

Team Ghana was made up of 21 members, made up of the Chef de Mission (CDM), eight athletes, three coaches, two team leaders, three medical staff, a media attaché, an accreditation liaison officer, and the President and Secretary General of the Ghana Olympic Committee (GOC).

2024 SUPPORT FOR NATIONAL FEDERATIONS AND ATHLETES

Aside the support given to the various federations for the African Games, the GOC again extended financial support to some National Federations and some athletes through the Olympic Solidarity scholarships.

The Federations that received support in various forms in the year 2024 are;

TEAM SUPPORT GRANT

SCHOLARSHIP FOR ATHLETES

The GOC continued to secure grants to support athletes through the Olympic solidarity scholarship scheme. In the year under review, a total of US$72,000 was given to athletes on the scholarship scheme with the breakdown below;

The athletes from the beneficiary federation that received support from these grants are.

1. Deborah Acquah (Athletics) – US$6,000

2. Benjamin Kwaku Azamati (Athletics) – US$6,000

3. Abdul Wahib Omar (Boxing) – US$6,000

4. Abraham Mensah (Boxing) – US$6,000

5. Joseph Commey (Boxing) – US$6,000

6. Rashid Alhassan (Judo) – US$6,000

7. Kaya Adwoa Forson (Swimming) – US$6,000

8. Abeiku Gyekye Jackson (Swimming) – US$6,000

9. Winifred Ntumi (Weightlifting) – US$6,000

10. Sandrah Mensimah Owusu (Weightlifting) – US$6,000

11. Frimpong Akwasi (Skeleton) – US$12,000

CONTIENTAL ATHLETE SUPPORT GRANT 

A total of US$15,000 was given in support to two federations under the Continental Athlete Support grant for participation in various International competitions. Cycling Federation received $10,000.00 and Swimming Federation $5,000.00.

TECHNICAL COACHING COURSE GRANT

Again, we approved the application for a Technical Coaching Course for two Federations in the year 2024. A sum of US$24,000 was approved to Rowing and Canoeing ($12,000.00) and Table Tennis ($12,000.00) to organise their coaching course.

ANOCA GRANT 

The GOC offered ANOCA grants to National Federations that took part in the African Games as support towards the Games and other International competitions. The breakdown of support is listed below;

SUMMARY OF QUADRENIAL SUPPORT TO NATIONAL FEDERATIONS

The Ghana Olympic Committee has over the last quadrennial approved and supported National Federations with a total of US$803,250. Attached is the breakdown per federations;
(See Attachment)

CONSTITUTIONAL REVIEW COMMITTEE

A few member Constitutional Review Committee made up of Messrs Richard Akpokovie (Chair), Francis Arthur (Secretary), Elikem Ameku, Peter Zwennes and Rt Hon. Ken Dzirasah was set up by congress and they are in the process of collating Proposals from stakeholders.

OLYMPAFRICA PROJECT (AMASAMAN)

After the full and proper acquisition and ownership of the 16.5-acre land at Amasaman, The IOC/ ANOCA and the Olympafrica Foundation at the beginning of November 2022 showed their commitment to restart the project all over again.

The CEO of Olympafrica Foundation, Mr. Alassane Therno Diack paid a working visit to Ghana in the middle of 2022 and agreed on the plan of work for the project.

The first phase was to construct a Basketball/Volleyball Court, a Tennis Court, and a standard Football Field with running tracks around it and the second phase will be the construction of a Multi-purpose Sports Hall.

Following the visit of the CEO, the Olympafrica foundation sent an amount of $100,000 into the account of the GOC for the re-start of the project.

An architectural firm, Spaysis limited was contacted, who did the drawings and the estimated cost for the whole project, this was sent to Olympafrica who reviewed it and negotiated for the final cost.

The total cost for the two-phase project was estimated at $160,799.47 out of which an amount of $100,000 was transferred to the GOC in November 2022.

PROJECT PROGRESS

As at January 2025, a total amount of $79,161 has been spent for the completion of the first phase of the project. The works completed are;

i. Architectural designing and drawings

ii. Clearing, levelling and preparation of site

iii. Marking of the Football pitch

iv. Construction and fixing of Football goal post and grassing

v. Marking of running tracks

vi. Construction of Tennis court

vii. Construction of Basketball/Volleyball courts

Processes are far advanced for the commencement of the second phase of the project which will be the construction of the Multi-Purpose Sports Hall. The GOC is currently awaiting the receipts of the relevant building permit from the Ga North Municipal Assembly to kick start the construction.

A virtual meeting was held between the committee members and Mr. Diack on 31st December, 2024 where discussions were held on how to kick start the construction of the sport hall with a slight modification to the initial drawings.

Mr. Diack is expected to visit the site, either at the end of this month or early February 2025.

SPONSORSHIPS

The GOC and the project sub-committee are currently working towards securing sponsorship from various individuals and organizations to make up for the required 30% funding contribution from the GOC.
The Jamaican Olympian, Asafa Powell visited the site recently and has promised to speak to some donors on how best we can secure tartan track for project.

CONCLUSION

As we move forward, I would like to outline our key goals for the upcoming year:

Strengthening Partnerships: We will continue to foster strong relationships with International Sports organizations, Governments, and corporate partners to secure resources and support for our athletes.

Athlete Development: We will prioritize initiatives that promote athlete development, including training programs, coaching clinics, and competitions.

Infrastructure Development: We will work tirelessly with Government and the IFs to upgrade and develop sports infrastructure to ensure that talent in the country have access to training facilities.

In closing, I would like to express my gratitude to each one of you for your dedication and hard work.

Let us continue to work together to promote the Olympic spirit and advance sports development in Ghana.

Thank You.