Benefits of hosting 2023 African Games

In less than a year’s time, Accra will become the sporting capital of Africa as the city hosts the biggest sports event on the continent and throw the spotlight once again on Ghana for many good reasons.

As the continent’s biggest multi-sport competition involving 54 countries and an estimated 5,000 athletes vying for laurels in 24 individual and team events, the 2023 African Games (Accra 2023) could be termed Africa’s version of the Olympic Games, with very high standards in competition and organisation expected.

Even though Ghana has participated in the continental games since 1965, this is the first time it has the privilege of hosting the games, after a successful bidding process.

The games afford the country a great opportunity to put its best foot forward to exploit the benefits of hosting major sporting events, such as the 1963, 1978 and 2008 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) football tournaments.

Since October 25, 2018 when the African Union awarded Ghana the rights to host the 13th African Games, a lot of work and stakeholder engagements have taken place by the initial project team and subsequently the Local Organising Committee (LOC), after it was inaugurated by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in October 2020 to ensure successful games next year.

Over the decades, the African Games have grown in scope and size from the maiden games held in Brazzaville in 1965 with an initial ideology of using the competition as a platform to foster unity among African countries.

In contemporary times, the motivation for bidding to host the continental games goes beyond sporting and political reasons to include exploiting the socio-economic benefits associated with such major events which have huge international media presence.

In return for the huge investment being made by the government, the country expects enormous economic benefits from the 2023 African Games through direct and indirect job creation, enhancement of the hospitality, transport and tourism industries, as well as improvement in sports and related infrastructure.

According to the LOC, an estimated 3,000 Ghanaians had so far been employed by three contractors currently working on the various sites at the University of Ghana and Borteyman for the African Games.

Just as the 2008 AFCON gave Ghana four modern stadiums in Accra, Kumasi, Essipon and Tamale, Accra 2023 will ensure the biggest improvement in the country’s sporting infrastructure through the construction of facilities at the site initially earmarked for an Olympic-size stadium complex at Borteyman.

When completed, the venue will serve as the Aquatic Centre, have a 1,000-seater multi-purpose hall for basketball, table tennis and wrestling, five tennis courts complexes, including a 1,000-seater centre court, as well as a 500-seater temporary dome for handball, judo, karate, Taekwondo and wrestling and a 1,000-seater multi-purpose hall for badminton, boxing, volleyball, weightlifting and para-sports.

Also, renovation works are underway at the University of Ghana Stadium at Legon to host athletics, football and rugby, while the Achimota School Oval will host cricket, with the Theodosia Okoh Hockey Stadium hosting hockey matches.

Beyond these stated benefits, the Daily Graphic believes that Ghana can seize the opportunity to re-organise all sporting disciplines in the country. This must be a key component of a strategic plan by the government and relevant stakeholders (the Ministry of Youth and Sports, the National Sports Authority, the Ghana Olympic Committee and the various sports federations) towards a renaissance of Ghana sports, which has experienced a sharp decline over the years, with Ghanaian athletes and teams struggling to make an impact at major international events such as the African Games, the Commonwealth Games and the Olympic Games.

Critical to the revival of sports in Ghana is the return of local sporting competitions, such as the National Unity Games, the Security Services Games (SESSA Games) and inter-school and colleges sports (Interco), which served as vehicles for talent identification and development.

Accra 2023 should provide opportunities to build the capacity of Ghanaians in modern sports management and officiating at the highest level of international sports, as the trickle-down effect will lead to improvement in how sporting events are organised at the district, regional and national levels in the country.

Given the massive investment in sports infrastructure, one of the legacies expected from Accra 2023 should be the acquisition of new knowledge and experience and the application of best practices.