Ghana hosts Togo in Homowo kickboxing on August 23

Ghana will host neighbours Togo in a special 2025 Homowo Kickboxing and Muay Thai Championship at the Accra Sports Stadium on August 23, the Ghana Kickboxing Association has confirmed.

Headlined by the crunch 62kg encounter, which pits Ghana's Felix Kotoka against Idrissa Bilal of Togo in the headline fight, the International Sport Kickboxing Association (ISKA) sanctioned event will witness a total of six fights, pitting combatants from the two countries in thrilling bouts.

Set to be held in commemoration of this year's Ga Homowo festival of the people of Accra, the event also aligns with the vision of the current Ghana Kickboxing Association (GKA) administration's drive to hold more regular fight shows, which they reckon will not only keep the fighters busy and competitive, further boosting the country's economic and tourism sectors.

According to GKA President, Yakubu Abdul Razak alias Commando, government and corporate support is very essential to inject life into the sport, with talent available in avalanches. He bemoaned the GKA's inability to pull off a more expanded tournament involving other West African countries, such as Burkina Faso,

Ivory Coast and Benin, due to the costs involved, with no subsidy forthcoming.

"We need a massive financial boost to support our athletes and coaches. I assure you that Ghanaian kickboxers are very good. We never lack talent, but how we develop and promote them to the international stage has been the problem because nobody wants to invest in kickboxing," Mr Razak told Graphic Sports.

"Let me assure our big companies and the government that if they give us just a little attention and support to hold more tournaments and give out more prize money, Ghana will be producing world-class athletes to bring more laurels to the country," he added.