The Ghana Bowls Federation (GBF) has inaugurated the Ghana Prisons Service Bowls Club, strengthening its strategy of working with the security services to build a disciplined and competitive foundation for the sport nationwide.
The launch, held yesterday at the Prisons Multi-Purpose Court in Cantonments, also featured a practical demonstration of the game led by GBF President Charles Amofa alongside disabled athletes.
Speaking after the exercise, Mr Amofa said partnering the security agencies was a deliberate effort to accelerate the sport’s development. “If you start any sporting federation with the security services, you are going to get it right,” he explained. “These organisations are disciplined, and so if you are starting anything with them, you have it easy. They are already sportsmen. Most of them are into handball, volleyball, hockey and others, so you wouldn’t have any serious challenges.”
He said the federation plans to introduce Security Services Games for bowls as part of its broader agenda to expand participation. Once the sport is fully grounded within the security services, civilian clubs will be encouraged to compete. “Once we get it right with the security services, then we can roll it out to the general public where we can have civilian clubs to also compete with the security services,” he said.
Mr Amofa described the inauguration as the first step in establishing a fully functional bowls club within the Prisons Service. “What you are seeing today is just a demonstration, and after that we will do the official inauguration. Then we can have an official Bowls Club here at the Ghana Prisons Service where we can at any point ask them to participate in any competition,” he stated.
He added that the GBF hoped Ghana would be represented in bowls at the 2026 Commonwealth Games. “So far, the Ghana Olympic Committee has shortlisted seven disciplines out of 10 that will be participating. We have written to the GOC. We hope that with all we are doing and trying to be visible and active, the GOC will be able to add bowls to the number of disciplines,” he said.
Chief Superintendent Elisha Ntsiful, Officer in Charge of Sports at the Prisons Service, welcomed the introduction of the sport and encouraged the federation to maintain regular engagement. He described his participation as a privilege and called for bowls equipment to be made available to officers so they can train independently. He also urged the GBF to organise more demonstrations to support new athletes.
The inauguration marks another step in the federation’s effort to position bowls as a mainstream competitive sport in Ghana, with a growing base of security personnel and civilian athletes expected to drive its long-term growth.
