The National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) has pledged its full support for the 2026 Democracy Cup, with Chairperson Kathleen Addy describing the initiative as a vital tool for reinforcing Ghana's democratic gains.
The pledge came when a delegation from Parliament, led by Clerk to Parliament Ebenezer Ahumah Djietror, presented the Democracy Cup trophy to the NCCE at its headquarters in Accra on Tuesday, August 25, 2026, as part of a nationwide trophy tour.
Addy commended the Right Honourable Speaker of Parliament, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, for championing the initiative, noting that the Speaker did not have to organise the event but had chosen to do so at great cost to remind Ghanaians about the importance of democracy.
"As Ghanaians, it's very easy to take democracy for granted, because it has served us so well for so long. We've forgotten how to live outside of it, and we've forgotten how difficult it can be outside of democracy," she said.
"Some way, somehow, we all know that without democracy, things will be much worse. That is fundamentally accepted across all the surveys. Ghanaians know we all want something better. It doesn't mean that we don't know that this is the best type of governance for us to have."
Addy said the NCCE, which has the official mandate to ensure that democracy continues to be entrenched in Ghana, stands behind the Speaker's initiative.
"As NCCE, it is our natural place to stand behind the Right Honourable Speaker and to help him to turn this event into something tangible that helps us every year to remember where we have come from, to remember that we need to fight for this democracy for it to stand," she said.
She noted that football was the perfect vehicle to promote democratic values, describing it as "the heart of the nation."
"All Ghanaians know that we love football. What other means but football to bring attention to all of this?" she asked.
The Clerk to Parliament Ebenezer Ahumah Djietror said the Speaker conceived the idea of leveraging football to promote the values of democracy, including tenacity, unity of purpose, teamwork, patience and tolerance.
"If you are a defender, you will not be able to put up with the strikers. A striker who is always on the offensive, you are always on the defensive. Sometimes when they are playing, you see that whilst you are trying to move on, the defender is trying to stop you from moving. But you have to live together, and your goal is to score. His goal is to defend, and yet at the end of that football match, you hug each other, you exchange pleasantries, and you move on," he said.
"These values, which resonate well in football, we should invite them into our governance systems, structures, and processes, so that we will learn to endure, tolerate with each other, and only use the power of the tongue at the appointed time to exchange, but all of us are committed to one cause: nation building, national development."
Cudjoe Fianoo, a member of the Democracy Cup organising team, recounted the challenges of playing football during Ghana's revolutionary era, when curfews and security restrictions made the sport difficult.
"We are here today, enjoying democracy. Now we can play football on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. From the point of football, we are benefiting from this democracy, and we want to commit ourselves to the success of the initiative that has been started by the Speaker," he said.
The trophy tour will continue with visits to the Judicial Service, Electoral Commission, Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice, and the Office of the President, before culminating on Friday, August 28, when Hearts of Oak and Asante Kotoko renew their rivalry at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium. The main fixture will be preceded by curtain-raiser matches, including a Parliamentary XI versus Judiciary XI encounter.
