Asantehene welcomes Unity Games to Kumasi

The Youth and Sports Minister, Elvis Afriyie-Ankrah, last Wednesday led a delegation, including the Director-General of the National Sports Authority (NSA), Alice Attipoe, and the mayor of Kumasi, Kojo Bonsu, to call on the Asantehene to officially inform him of the upcoming National Unity Games in the region slated for August 11-18.

The visit was also to seek Otumfuo Osei-Tutu’s blessing and approval for the competition, which will  comprise 11 sporting disciplines. They are boxing, athletics, table tennis, badminton, basketball, handball, volleyball, taekwondo and Karate-Do.

The rest are swimming, disabled sports and two demonstrational sporting disciplines, traditional wrestling and weightlifting.

According to the Minister, the Asantehene who welcomed the delegation to the Manhyia Palace expressed his delight at the event, saying it would unite the country ‘in these challenging times.’

‘’It is no secret that Ghana is currently going through tough times but there is the  need to unite and overcome these challenges as a nation especially as far as our youth are concerned,'' he was reported to have said.

He said such games bring together the youth where they met and competed against each other in the spirit of friendship, unity and love.

‘’The Unity Games are not about winning because the spirit of the competition is far bigger than that. Indeed, meeting people from other parts of the country and engaging with them on and off the competition field is one of the best experiences athletes could share”,  he said.

Mr Afriyie-Ankrah was grateful to the Asantehene for permitting the organisation of the competition in the region while stressing that it would be a spectacular showpiece.

He agreed with the Asantehene that the games would foster peace and unity among Ghanaian youth and also   unearth talents to represent Ghana at the Commonwealth and Olympic Games in Glasgow 2014 and Rio 2016 respectively.

By Kwame Larweh