Govt must provide more funding for cycling;Moore

The General Secretary of the Ghana Cycling Federation (GCF), Mr Dennis Kweku Moore, says the government should get involved in the cycling federation and feel the stress the athletes go through.

He told the Daily Graphic that the athletes were risking their lives to raise the name of Ghana high but the government was not providing them with the needed funds to motivate them do more.

Mr Moore expressed his frustration when he said the Ministry of Sports did not respect the federation and did not seek the welfare of the athletes.

“We one day invited the minister but he didn’t show up and he didn’t tell us the reason he didn’t come. The minister does not respect this federation,” he stated sadly.

The secretary further stated that one Anthony Boakye was able to win the yellow jersey for the first time in 15 years but the government couldn’t recognise his effort.

“Anthony won the yellow jersey for the first time in 15 years but there was nothing like even saying thank you to the athlete. When Richard Comey won a fight, the President bought him a car. Why are they discriminating against our athletes?” he asked.

He said the Ministry of Youth and Sports was not supporting the federation to develop the sport and win medals for Ghana, leaving federation heads, coaches and the athletes to make a lot of sacrifices to keep Ghana’s flag flying high.

He praised GCF president, Mr Mohammed Sahoon, who had taken it upon himself to fund the federation and seek the welfare of the athletes so their safety would be guaranteed.

Mr Moore indicated that his federation was preparing for the upcoming Tour de Faso competition to be staged in Burkina Faso next month with six cyclists representing Ghana..

He explained that even though the federation was unable to compete in the Tour de La Cote d’Ivoire because of some managerial issues, the team was confident that it would win medals in the upcoming tournament in Burkina Faso.