Gold Fields votes GH¢100,000 for Western invitational tourney

Gold Fields Ghana Limited, a globally diversified gold producer in the country, has supported the Western Regional Pre-season Invitational Tournament with GH¢100,000 aimed at awakening the sports economy of the region.

Speaking at the presentation ceremony in Takoradi last Wednesday, the Vice President and Head of Human Resources of West Africa Region, Gold Fields, Mr Francis Eduku, said the company was privileged to associate itself with the tournament aimed at unearthing sports talents in the region.

The eight clubs selected for the tournament include Elmina Sharks, Medeama Sporting Club, Karela United, Proud United, Sekondi Eleven Wise, Skyy FC, Sekondi Hasaacas and FC Samartex.

The September 14 to 16 tournament will be played at the Sekondi Stadium in Essipon, Samartex Park in Samreboi and Tarkwa T&A Park.

Mr Eduku said Gold Fields was proud to partake in the competition as football is one of the catalysts for national development, in addition to its health benefits and its power to engender unity and social cohesion.

“We have associated ourselves with the pre-season invitational soccer tournament owing to the fact that through our association with the tournament and making it work, a lot of talents would be revealed not only to the individual benefits of the talented ones but the region and the nation as a whole,” he said.

Mr Eduku said his outfit was looking forward to future opportunities to develop the space, saying: “In Gold Fields, this is not the first time we are supporting sports in the country. From 2005 and 2012, we spent close to $15 million as sponsorship to the senior national team, the Black Stars.”

“As a result, the country qualified for the FIFA World Cup and with that achievement and the current situation, we believe sports has gone down in the region, which is identified as one of the soccer regions of the country which produced great players in the past,” he recalled.

He lamented that at present, the story of those great footballers is different, “therefore, for us at Gold Fields, we see this as an opportunity to ensure that the young hidden talents are exposed, hence our decision to commit GH¢100,000 to support the cause as a headline sponsor.”

The Deputy Western Regional Minister, Mrs Gifty E. Kusi, commended the company for the support and noted that the move by the Regional Coordinating Council to develop the sports economy of the region is very strategic and comes with enormous benefit to the region and the country as a whole.

She said the support from Gold Fields, which has in the past undertaken several sustainable projects aimed at the betterment of the lives of the people, was timely and commendable.

Mr Wilson Arthur, chairman of the Sports Committee, assured that the committee and its 11-member local organising committee for the tournament would aspire to achieve excellence and become architects of the repositioning of football in the Western Region.