Graphic Sports to reward loyal readers in 30th anniversary programmes

Graphic Sports, Ghana’s best selling and oldest existing sports paper, last Friday launched its 30th anniversary celebration with an elaborate line-up of activities over the next six months, including loyalty programmes that seek to reward the paper’s loyal readers and also deepen its relationship with its them.

Lucky winners stand to win fully- sponsored trip to Europe to watch selected matches in the English Premier League.

Among planned activities are a masthead competition, a sports quiz programme spanning 13 weeks, a five-a-side community football tournament, corporate fun games and a forum on sports development.

The 30th milestone celebrations will be climaxed with a gala night in Accra to honour major partners of the paper, including sponsors, most loyal readers, sports stars and administrators who have contributed immensely to the paper’s success story over the last three decades.

The Graphic Sports first hit the newsstands on April 23, 1985 as a four-page, black-and-white weekly newspaper which has metamorphosed over the years into a full-colour, 16-page tri-weekly which is published on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

At last Friday’s launch at the Graphic Press House, the editor of the paper, Felix Abayateye, paid glowing tribute to the founders of the paper, including the pioneer editor, Mr Joe Aggrey, for nurturing the dream and making it a reality. However, he expressed regret that other competitor sports weeklies such as The Sporting Times, Sports World­­ and Africa Sports could not stand the survival battle and had folded up.

Mr Abayateye was hopeful that the Graphic Sports would continue to increase its visibility on the market while adapting to the changing trends tin sports journalism to meet the interests of readers.

The Managing Director of Graphic Communications Group Limited (GCGL), Mr Ken Ashigbey, entreated the electronic media to encourage their audience, including sports stars, to go beyond just listening to newspaper reviews, by reading the Graphic Sports and other newspapers as such reading habits, when cultivated, would increase their knowledge base and improve upon their understanding of sports.

He entreated patrons of the paper to participate actively in the various reader-loyalty programmes as the prizes at stake would be bigger and more attractive than the all-expense-paid trip to the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil won by three loyal readers of Graphic Sports.

 In his welcome address, the Director of Newspapers, Mr Yaw Boadu-Ayeboafoh noted the credibility of the paper’s reportage and urged its avid readers to continue to patronise it.