Accra, June 2, GNA – Mr. Mustapha Ussif, the Minister of Youth and Sports, has reaffirmed the government’s support for young athletes so as to make them highly competitive on the international stage.
The Minister said this during a courtesy call to his office by reigning long-distance champion William Amponsah and Ghana’s Fastest Human 2021 Sarfo Ansah.
In his interaction with the athletes, the Minister said nurturing across the 44 sporting disciplines remains a major priority for his Ministry.
According to the Minister, the nurturing of sporting talent forms part of the yet-to-be outdoored ‘Sports for Jobs” initiative that seeks to build the capacity of athletes so that they can earn a living from their talents.
He said they would provide support for every young athlete through the Ghana Athletics Association (GAA) during the participation of both national and international championships.
The Minister noted that long distance running was hugely dominated by the East Africans but encouraged William Amponsah to set up his training so as to compete at the top level as well as represent Ghana at the Olympics in the near future.
Professor Kwesi Yankah, Former Minister of State in Charge of Tertiary Education and the Patron of the Daakye Running Club, who led the delegation was grateful to the Minister for his warmth and words of encouragement to the young athletes.
He said he remained poised in offering support to talented athletes so as to enable them to win laurels for the country in the near future.
After the meeting, Amponsah presented the medal he won at the 21-Kilometer Half Marathon at the ECOWAS Athletics Championships Kaduna, Nigeria, to the Minister.
Ansah, on the other hand, presented his Ghana’s Fastest Human 2021 medal.
GNA