By Emmanuel Nyatsikor
Ho, June 12, GNA – The Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana is organising a National Youth Sports championship under the auspices of its Youth Desk Office.
The sport which will take place between June and September this year, is dubbed Young Evangelical Presbyterian (YEP) National Cup 2026.
This was contained in a letter signed by Reverend Dr Lawson Kwaku Dzanku, Clerk of the General Assembly of the Church and titled “Official Circular: Young Evangelical Presbyterian National Cup 2026.”
It was addressed to all Presbytery Moderators of the Church and copied to the Moderator of the General Assembly, the Presbyter Executive, Director of Programmes, Ecumenism and Social Relations, Director of Evangelism, the Executive Float File, all of the Church and the Ghana News Agency in Ho.
According to the letter, the competition was not merely a sporting event, but a deliberate, structured evangelism tool designed to reach the youth, communities and the unchurched through the platform of sports.
It stated that the programme carried the theme “A Godly and Clean Generation.”
The letter noted that the program has been approved by the leadership of the Church and directed all Presbyteries to start immediate preparation and implementation.
It said the YEP National Cup 2026 was a straight knockout national championship spanning five sporting categories, namely male and female football, male and female volleyball and e-sports: PES/FIFA (1 vs 1 format).
The letter asked all sixteen presbyteries to present a team each for all the events which would be played on a home and away basis.
It made it clear to all presbyteries that “sports is the platform, but evangelism is the purpose.”
An evangelism officer should be attached to every match hosted within any presbytery, there should be a brief gospel message or devotion before the start or during halftime, distribution of evangelism materials to spectators, offer public altar calls and record the number of persons reached and decisions made.
It directed organisers of the programme to engage local community members and invite the unchurched to attend each match as part of the outreach, adding that the final in September would culminate in a mini crusade that would bring all the presbyteries together for a mass gospel event.
The letter asked every presbytery to appoint a Presbytery sports coordinator for the YEP National Cup to serve as the primary contact with the Presbytery Facilitator to the Youth Desk and the Coordinating Committee.
It stated that all competing players should hold a valid identity (ID) card like a passport, Ghana Card, Health Insurance Card, Voter ID or the Church’s membership ID card.
The letter asked that all completed registration forms of players should be submitted to National YEP Sports Coordinator by June 10, 2026, adding that late submissions would not be accepted.
It noted that the official launch and fixtures fixing would come on June 20, 2026, the round of 16 would take place between June and July, the quarter and semi-finals were scheduled to come on in August 2026 with the national finals coming on in September 2026.
It stated that presbyteries should make provision for numbered jerseys, arrange team transport and its own logistics for all away fixtures, adding, “home teams are responsible for providing a suitable venue and basic match setups for all home matches.”
“Every match hosted in your Presbytery must include a structured gospel moment,” it noted.
The letter said it was mandatory for all Presbyteries to report results, player attendance, disciplinary incident and evangelism activity and submitted it to National Coordinator within 24 hours of every match.
“Every Presbytery is to embrace the YEP National Cup not as an administrative obligation but as a God-given opportunity to preach the gospel, build up our youth and demonstrate the transforming power of Christ in our communities.
“The playing fields of Ghana are mission fields, let us use them to win our young people to Christ,” it entreated.
The letter urged all Presbytery Moderators, Clerks and Youth Leaders to take personal ownership of the Programme within their Presbyteries to make it a success.
GNA
Edited by Maxwell Awumah/Benjamin Mensah