Vice-President Bawumia with the athletes and coaches
Vice-President Mahamudu Bawumia on Friday presented medals and trophies to champions of the 2022 National Cross-country athletics competition at Jubilee House.
The winners of the competition from various regions were accorded a grand reception at the seat of government to underline the significance of the event to government, and to reaffirm its commitment towards the promotion of sports in the country.
The national Cross-Country had been abandoned for over a decade, but the National Sports Authority revived it in 2017, and the latest one was held in Akyem Oda in the Eastern Region.
Dr. Bawumia congratulated the athletes for their exploits, as well as the National Sports Authority for reviving the cross-country event.
The Vice-President said the Cross-Country is an event which had been abandoned for 10 years, saying anything that lacks attention for a long time will deteriorate in the long run.
“I am very happy that we have revived it from 2017 after its abandonment for ten years. We are seeing some good results. And today is the day for these wonderful athletes and their coaches, who have worked very hard, to be appreciated because you have to train, you don’t just win. We acknowledge you, our dear athletes and coaches, for your excellent performance,” Dr. Bawumia stated.
Enormous benefits
Dr. Bawumia, who described himself as an “enthusiastic sports person”, highlighted the enormous benefits of sports, and its significant contribution to the development of nations, the world over.
He called for greater investment and support for more sports disciplines in the country aside football in order to create more opportunities for young people.
He noted that the benefits of sports are so underestimated, saying, over the years, governments had not paid the requisite attention to sports.
“Maybe we tend to focus a lot on football but there are many other sports. When you look at many countries around the world, you’ll see, for example, the sort of jobs that the sports industry creates is just massive.
“Incomes that are generated across the sports industry is just massive, so it is very important that, as a country, we pay attention to sports, invest in sports, and we nurture sports so that we can have the benefits for this country,” Dr Bawumia added.
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