Mr Desmond Mantey in a pose with youth participants of the EYBFS project at Osu
The Martisans Sports and Cultural Foundation (MSCF), a non-profit community based NGO in Accra, has called for a wider stakeholder engagement in sports as part of efforts to promote its development in the country.
The President of the organisation, Desmond Mantey, made the call during a visit to the office of the Teshie Gonti Mantse, Nii Nmete.
According to him, sports have the potential to promote the physical and psychological well-being of our youth, and this is very essential for our national development as people.
Opportunities
Mr Mantey said sports give the youth opportunities to develop both their personal and athletic credentials in a bid to empower them for a brighter future. He therefore urged both traditional and state authorities to consider the development and promotion of sports as critical within their various jurisdictions.
He noted that sports tremendously contribute to the social, cultural and economic development of communities and the country at large, stressing that “efforts should be made to ensure that the youth in all our communities get access to sports as a basic necessity”.
“Sports can significantly support efforts towards the realisation of the UN SDGs in diverse ways. Girls’ involvement in sports and the benefit thereof to our girls and ladies cannot be underestimated. The SGD calls for empowerment of women, and sports present to our ladies a perfect platform to enhance their physical, mental and psychological well-being,” he stated.
He added that sports greatly contribute to enhancing the self-confidence of ladies and girls in a bid to empower them, saying “it is important that both state and local authorities give it the maximum attention required”.
Challenges
Touching on some of the problems facing sports development, Mr Mantey said the recent spike in the acquisition of sports parks by traditional and state authorities for other agendas is detrimental to the development of sports.
“This acts should be stopped. Lack of play grounds and sports complexes is a major issue in our communities that is hindering both youth development and community development,” he added.
To this end, he stressed the urgent need to ensure that the communities get enough parks for the youth to participate in the various sports disciplines.
Mr Mantey disclosed plans by MSCF to promote the flying disc sports within communities across Ghana in the coming months through the ‘Empowering the Youth for a Bright Future through Sports’ (EYBFS) project.
He therefore called on all stakeholders, including traditional and state authorities, to intensify efforts to promote and develop sports in order to propel socio-economic advancement and development.
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