By Simon Asare, GNA
Accra, Oct. 15, GNA – Commissioner of Police (COP) Lydia Yaako Donkor, the Director-General of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service, has called for increased vigilance among parents, coaches, sports administrators and young athletes to prevent human trafficking in sports.
She said criminal networks were exploiting the dreams and aspirations of young athletes through fraudulent promises of professional football contracts, international trials and scholarships abroad.
COP Donkor made the call when she delivered an address on the theme, “Addressing Human Trafficking in Sports in Ghana,” at a training programme supported by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection.
The programme was aimed at strengthening the capacity of officers to identify, investigate and prevent human trafficking.
She noted that while sports offered young people opportunities for personal development, professional advancement and international exposure, traffickers were increasingly exploiting their ambitions to lure them into situations of abuse and exploitation.
She urged parents, coaches, football academies and sports administrators to carefully verify offers of international contracts, scholarships and other professional opportunities before allowing young athletes to pursue them.
“No young person should lose their freedom, dignity or future while pursuing a sporting dream,” she stressed.
COP Donkor said the fight against human trafficking required collective responsibility, with families, sporting institutions, law enforcement agencies and international partners working together to protect vulnerable young people.
She reaffirmed the CID’s commitment to strengthening intelligence-led investigations, protecting victims and collaborating with sporting institutions and international partners to identify and dismantle human trafficking networks.
She said such collaboration was essential to detecting fraudulent recruitment schemes, preventing exploitation and ensuring that perpetrators were brought to justice.
COP Donkor emphasised that sports must remain a pathway to opportunity, discipline and national pride, rather than a means through which vulnerable young people were deceived and exploited.
She called for sustained efforts to ensure that young athletes could pursue their ambitions in a safe environment, free from trafficking and other forms of exploitation.
She urged all stakeholders to remain alert to suspicious recruitment arrangements and prioritise the safety and welfare of young athletes.
COP Donkor said protecting the dreams and future of young people was essential to safeguarding the integrity of sports and strengthening Ghana’s efforts to combat human trafficking.
GNA
Edited by Kenneth Odeng Adade
Reporter: Simon Asare
Email: [email protected]