Ministry did not recommend purported para team for Norwegian marathon - Sports Minister

The Minister of Youth and Sports, Mustapha Usif has reiterated that his outfit had absolutely nothing to do with the alleged Paralympic team who have absconded after their arrival in Norway to participate in a marathon.

At a press conference in Accra on Wednesday, Mr Ussif indicated the Ministry and other relevant stakeholders were not aware of the team’s participation in the tournament.

He said the ministry had notified the relevant security agencies for a thorough investigation after which the report will be made public.

"The Ministry of National Security has alerted my ministry about the issue and we have since responded to the National Security minister and the other security agencies to investigate the issue," he said.

"By way of education, we wish to state the following that in relation to visa assistance, with all the federations in Ghana and I know most of you, the distinguished media, are even abreast with how we operate in the ministry. Travel arrangements for all athletes, if an athlete has to travel, the Ministry of Youth and Sports work with the National Sports Authority....So any federation that is recognised by the National Sports Authority, if they want to travel for their international competitions, or even local and national competitions, if they need assistance from us, they will normally will write to the National Sports Authority who will do their due diligence and then report same with recommendation to the ministry then we take action. 

He continued: "In this case, in this Norwegian case, there was not any recommendation by either the National Sports Authority or the Ministry of Youth and Sports. So we were not aware about it and the team that went also didn't represent Ghana as was reported in some of the media. Normally, even the Ministry of Youth and Sports, we don't issue letters to any of the embassies."

"We normally write to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and they will then work on our behalf with any of the embassies or missions. So for the records, these purported Ghana paralympic team is not true. They are not in any of the tournaments because we were not in the picture. Even though they were not representing our country, once the report indicates that they are athletes, it is important for us to be concerned," he added. 

Mr Ussif further cautioned unscrupulous people who are taking advantage of athletes under the pretense of assisting them to be careful.

This comes after an 11-member team of Ghanaian para-athletes went missing upon their arrival in Oslo for the Bergen Marathon.

According to a statement from the Ministry of National Security, one para-athlete, Nana Antwi, has been detained by Norwegian authorities, while the coach of the ‘team’, George Gyamfi Gyasi died shortly after being admitted at the Oslo University Hospital after collapsing.

Meanwhile, the National Paralympic Committee of Ghana has suspended three individuals who were accused of masterminding the incident.

The minority members of Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee are also demanding an immediate inquiry into the visa scandal.