Otumfuo demands equal attention in sports

The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, has called for an immediate halt to investing the country’s resources into one sport to the neglect of the rest as a way of creating an equal platform for athletes to develop their talents.

He however, did not mention any particular sport but it was apparent that the Asantehene was referring to football.

Otumfuo’s call appears to have fallen in line with the recent agitation by the other sporting associations, apart from football, which threatened to boycott the upcoming All Africa Games in Congo Brazzaville if they were not supported by the government.

The Ashanti king, who was addressing golfers last Sunday in Kumasi at the end of the 58th MTN-Asantehene gold Cup, urged the government and the corporate world to collaborate to address the issue since it could create disaffection within the rank and file of the sporting fraternity.

With the introduction of golf as an Olympic sport, Otumfuo challenged the various golf clubs to launch ‘Operation find the Tiger,’ to hunt, harness and develop budding talents who will be able to rub shoulders with the best in the world.

The king has commenced a campaign to help produce a crack team capable of representing the country at the next Olympics. Sequel to that, he has initiated the national youth competition which is in its third year.

Through his initiative, Ghana has been accepted into the European golf family and could now compete in the European circuit.

Otumfuo said, that provided Ghanaian golfers the opportunity to compete with the ‘movers and shakers’ of the world and strike business deals.

He said it was important to seize the opportunity to network on all fronts and help develop Ghana golf.