By Francis Ofori
Accra, April 27, GNA – The ECOWAS Youth and Sports Development Centre (EYSDC) at a stakeholder workshop has pledged its commitment to help revive Traditional African Sports in the sub region.
It said that this was part of the plans laid out to develop sports both on the continent and at the global level.
The specialised agency of the Economic Community of West African States with responsibility for youth and sports seeks to enrich policies and strategic action plans enshrined in their agenda 2050.
Under the theme ” Multi Disciplinary Taskforce on the Review of Economic Community of Youth and Sports policies and strategic action plans”, the centre also positions sports as a key sector of the socio-economic lives of the people in the region and a vehicle for human development, peaceful coexistence and regional integration.
Speaking at the launch of the event, Mr. Kennedy Barsisa Zaro, Head of Division, Youth Sports and Employment at EYSDC said it was high time efforts were made to put Traditional African sports on the international calendar.
Some of these sports were Nguni – Stick Fighting, Ta Kurt Om El Mahag, Dambe Boxing and many others.
He revealed that most of these continental sports played a key role in bringing various communities together, hence the need to recognise them at the world level.
According to him, ECOWAS was still working hand-in-hand with other bodies to make this vision of globalising traditional sports possible.
Mr. Francis Chuks Njoaguani, Director at ECOWAS Youth and Sports Development Centre said investing in sports in Africa would make it more attractive to the outside world.
“I agree with the fact that we need to invest more into these traditional African sports in order to attract international bodies to fix them in their various competitions, like the Olympics.”
He explained that the policy frameworks by ECOWAS Youth and Sports Development Centre had an implementation period of five years for the youth policy’s strategic plan of action, and ten years for the sports policy.
Mr. Njoaguani urged Africans, most especially the youth to play their part in championing this campaign of promoting sports on the continent.
Professor Orakinyo Ebenezer of University of Ibadan in Nigeria, commenting on the issue of funding and sponsorship, said this was an issue the centre needed to address going forward.
The ECOWAS Youth Policy and Strategic plan policy was developed and adopted by the conference of ECOWAS Ministers of Youth but was endorsed in 2012.
The centre had previously organised the ECOWAS Games, ECOWAS cyclist tour, Burkina Floor Ball, West Africa Deaf Sports and many other events.
Present at the meeting were some members of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), and representatives of the various West African countries.
GNA