By Naa Shormei Odonkor
Kumasi, Dec. 08, GNA–The Armed Forces Senior High Technical School (AFSHTS), Kumasi, has finally qualified to play in the round of 32 of the inter-schools’ boys soccer games after four consecutive failed attempts since the 2021/2022 academic year.
This followed a win against three schools, Apagya Senior High School (SHS), Mansoman SHS, and Morso SHTS with a total of eight goals to gain six points at the group stage.
Mr Ebenezer Amega, head of the Sports Department of the AFSHTS, told the Ghana News Agency in an interview that, the boys soccer games were being organised by the Ashanti Regional Schools and Colleges Sports Federation.
He noted that, the team beat Apagya SHS to one nil goal, drew with Mansoman SHS and scored five goals to none against Morso SHTS to qualify.
Mr Amega indicated that the hard work and persistence of the sports department had finally paid off after so many attempts to qualify to play at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium.
“Although, our school field is in a deplorable state, we never gave up on training and in our own small way tried to improve the state of the field for our players and athletes to train,” said Mr Amega.
Apart from qualifying this year to participate in the round of 32 of the boys’ soccer games, he noted that, one of the school’s athlete, Master Blessing Konadu Jnr, had been scouted to represent Ghana in Angola to participate in the 100 and 200 meters races.
He said this was the second time the athlete had been scouted to represent the country in the 100 and 200 meters races on the international level.
Additionally, Mr Amega disclosed that the University of Cape Coast promised to give full educational scholarships to six of the school’s athletes who completed this year if they passed their West African Secondary School Certificate Examination.
However, despite the good performance and results the school had been producing in the area of sports, it lacked standard field to train its sportsmen and women.
Mr Amega appealed to the public, sports enthusiasts, organisations, and institutions to help reshape the school field into a standard sports field for the benefit of the school and the country at large.
A visit to the school by the Ghana News Agency revealed that, the former training ground for the military some years back, now the Armed Forces SHTS school park was partly grassy, stony, and sandy.
The rains had washed away the top soil living the park in a deplorable state not fit to be called a standard park for sporting activities.
There were no marked tracks to assist athletes to train, the basketball court also served as the volleyball court, no befitting area for long and high jumps training.
Athletes had to jog or walk to the Baba Yara Sports Stadium which was 1000 to 1500 meters away from the school every morning to train before going to class.
GNA
Edited by Kwabia Owusu-Mensah/Linda Asante Agyei