Ashanti Regional Acting (Ag) Director of the National Sports Authority (NSA), Mr. Emmanuel Kojo Appiah on Tuesday September 07, 2021 led a management meeting with people living with disabilities at Baba Yara Sports Stadium, Kumasi.
The purpose of the meeting was for the new Ag. Ashanti Regional Director to introduce himself and officially meet the management of the Paralympic Sports Team to discuss their challenges in the various sporting activities they engage in while finding ways to make sports easier for them.
The Ashanti Regional Captain of the Paralympic Sports Team, Mr. Patrick Yaw Obeng made mention of some challenges they have faced in the past including the lack of equipment and training materials, usage of the pitch, their own office and non-availability of designated wash rooms at the stadium.
According to him, these challenges when addressed will go a long way to boost their training and competition to result in wining of more medals for the region and the country at large.
Bismark Kyei, captain of the wheelchair basketball team stressed on the need to have a basketball court to practice on. He said, they have been practicing on the premises of Kings College and they would appreciate it if they could get a court at the stadium for their training sessions.
According to Mr. Bawa Sambian Abdallah, Chairman of the Amputee Club Association, the Amputee soccer league will soon start and as such, they will need a court for training as the Ashanti Regional Team are the first to win in a league and they will need more training to improve on that.
The Taekwondo Representative Mr. Salih Mohammed advised that people with disability can also learn Taekwondo because they can do it and win competitions when they get all the help they need.
On his part, the Ag. Director, Mr. Emmanuel Kojo Appiah assured the team that he and his management team will send an official letter to some places such as Wesley College (WESCO) and Kumasi Technical Institute (KTI), to secure fields and courts for the various sporting activities.
He also said, media involvement is a key to supporting sporting activities because if the media always capture Paralympic activities, they will get more financial support and donations. People will also get to know of their sporting activities and have interest in them.
By: Naseeba Yahaya