The sporting fraternity in Ghana is visibly disturbed about the apparent falling standards of athletics in the country. No wonder some leading figures of the sport recently met in Accra, to seek new ways of breathing life back into a sport which once gave the country its eminent place.

The initiator of the meeting was Dr Andrew Owusu, former national athlete with impeccable credentials of Commonwealth Games silver in his favourite triple jump in Malaysia 1998, Africa Games Gold in South Africa 1999 and another Africa Games Gold in Nigeria 2003. He was ably supported by Prof. Francis Dodoo also a former triple jumper of repute credited with a gold medal in the 1987 Africa Games in Kenya.

Other prominent people at the meeting with credible athletics credentials were Mike Ahey, 1962 Perth Commonwealth Games long jump gold medalist record holder, Adjin Tettey, former national athletics coach and chairman of the Ghana Athletics Association and Dr Henry Pufaa, Board Chairman of the National Sports Council and former national javelin champion. Also present was National Olympic Committee President, Benson Baba.

It was a lively discussion .Dr Andrew Owusu set the ball rolling with this profound statement .He said “after years of broken promises and unfulfilled potential, athletics is crumbling under the weight of real or imagined problems, people are disillusioned about the current state of athletics, that is why there is a need for an all hands-on-deck approach to look at opportunities for a meaningful change.”
He emphasized that the meeting was not aimed at any witch- hunting or engaging in a blame game for the decline of athletics, but to seek better ways of administration and general organization of the sport in line with modern practices.
After a lengthy and fruitful interaction, the gathering agreed that there was the need for certification system for athletics coaches and that there should be refresher courses for them. It was also suggested that a welfare system, “both medical and pecuniary” be established to motivate coaches to work even harder at the grassroots.

I am disturbed that there was no mention of how talents would be unearthed and the need to get good running tracks and kit especially for the field events. My assumption is that the reference to coaches working hard at the grassroots could mean tapping the talents from the grassroots and here I would make specific mention of schools and colleges. I maintain my credo that there should be a clear emphasis on the importance of sports in schools and we need to do more to promote sports among students. This has yielded results in the past and we only need to revise the notes.

Luckily Dr Andrew Owusu, Prof. Francis Dodoo and Dr Henry Pufaa are all products of schools and colleges sports. And on top, they are worthy examples that one can brilliantly combine academic work with sports to reach the top; parents and guardians must therefore disabuse their minds of the fallacy that sports and books don’t go together.

I would like to recommend that potential athletes who are not all that brilliant academically could be sponsored to pursue other vocations. State institutions like the security services have in the past nurtured athletes to the top. The great long jumper and sprinter Mike Ahey, is a typical example and we must revisit that system.

This powerful meeting spearheaded by Dr Andrew Owusu, is a step in the right direction and I believe it would not remain a mere talking shop. There was this mention about witch- hunting and blame game. I am not too sure of what Dr Owusu was driving at, but I have a hunch that the present boss of the Athletics Association, Sandy Osei Agyeman is not everybody’s favourite in the athletics fraternity and many people have had cause to call to question his dealings with the sports authorities.

Anyway since it is all in the national interest, I would like to encourage Dr Andrew Owusu and his team to continue with their pursuit in restoring the high image of Ghana in athletics. They should not behave like a group of people I know who spend most of the time in meetings, arranging the next meeting or in committees deciding on how the next committee should be formed. I wish them all the best and may I add that they should keep loving sports.