Speech By Samson Deen President of the APC/ NPC-Ghana At the Inauguration of the Accra 2023 African Games
Full speech delivered by the president of African Paralympic Committee (APC)/ National Paralympic Committee (NPC)-Ghana Samson Deen at the inauguration of the the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) for the Accra 2023 African Para Games at the home of the African Paralympic Committee (AfPC) Secretariat in Accra.
The African Paralympic Committee (AfPC) in conjunction with the Republic of Ghana will make history by organising the First African Para Games as a stand- alone International Multi- Para Sporting Event for athletes with impairment on the continent of Africa in September 2023.
The African Para Games, Accra 2023 is aimed at providing African Para Athletes a world class, multi-sport event on the African soil, which their “able-bodied” counterparts have enjoyed since the inception of the All African Games in 1965.
The idea of the African Para Games as a stand-alone international multi-sporting event for athletes with an impairment in AFRICA was first borne in 2017 in Angola at the African Paralympic Committee General Assembly. The first edition was to be organized and hosted in Morocco, in January 2019. However, the event did not take place as planned.
At the heart of the 2021 African Paralympic Committee (APC) General Assembly in Rabat Morocco, was the organization of a separate African Para Games for athletes with impairment and with express disappointment of members because of our inability to organize the first Games in 2019.
My electoral victory as the President of the African Paralympic Committee (AfPC) in Rabat, Morocco, on the 31st of October, 2021, further encouraged and provided hope for the host and organization the first-ever African Para Games in Accra- Ghana, after the 13th African Games, Accra 2023 in September.
Ghana is highly privileged to host and organize the First edition of the African Para Games, which is aimed at providing the African Para Athletes the opportunity to experience a world class multi-para sporting event on the African continent, serve as a catalyst for further development and promotion of para-sports in Africa, and increased our athletes qualification opportunities for Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.
Come this September Ghana will host thousands of athletes and team officials (coaches, administrative and technical personnel) from over Forty-eight (48) National Paralympic Committees (NPCs) across Africa and hundreds of dignitaries including the President of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), technical officials, media personnel as well as volunteers globally.
The Games official sports programme includes SEVEN SPORTS CODES, notaby: Amputee Football, Para Athletics, Para Powerlifting, Goalball, Para / Sitting Volleyball, Wheelchair Basketball, and Wheelchair Tennis.
Significantly four of these sports are sanctioned qualification events for Paris 2024 Paralympic Games; these are Para Athletics, Para Powerlifting, Para Volleyball, and Wheelchair Tennis.
Again for the first time in the history of Paralympic Movement in Africa, the African Paralympic Committee can boast of an Ultra-modern office with the necessary facilities and accessories and dedicated staff to facilitate a smooth administration and management of our organisation.
The African Para Games has come stay as a mandatory event for all APCs Member NPCs to serve as a unique platform to celebrate our exceptional African Para Athletes’ sporting excellence.
We wish to thank H.E. the President of the Republic, the Honourable
Minister of Youth and Sports, for the support towards the realization of this goal and the entire Paralympic and Olympic Movements for the solidarity.
Together we shall inspire abetter Africa through sports.
The First African Para Games Accra 2023 Sports Codes include:
1 Amputee Football,
2 Para Athletics,
3 Para Powerlifting,
4 Goalball,
5 Sitting Volleyball,
6 Wheelchair Basketball, and
7 Wheelchair Tennis.
The competition will commence from 3rd to 12th September 2023 with forty-eight (48) African Countries.
