The President of the Republic of Ghana, His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, on Tuesday, August 31, 2021, cut the sod on the University's 100-acre land at Borteyman for the construction of a state-of-the-art sporting facility.
The sports complex which includes a thousand-capacity 8-lane swimming pool, one-thousand-seater multi-purpose sports hall (for Basketball, Badminton, Boxing,Tennis) lecture halls, student hostels and lecturers' bungalows will be used to host the 13th African Games in 2023.
Delivering his address before cutting the sod for the commencement of the construction of the sports infrastructure, His Excellency the President expressed his excitement at Ghana’s bid to host the African games in 2023 for the first time in history since the inception of the games in 1965. He was confident that Ghana will host the best African Games ever.Further in his address, President Akufo-Addo indicated that the country’s hosting of the African Games was timely as his administration puts measures in place to regain Ghana’s glory in sports. “Hosting the 13th African Games will afford Ghana the opportunity to address capacity deficiencies by providing relevant human resources capacity to run and man sports in Ghana. Most importantly, this will give us a state-of-the-art sporting facility that will support development of sports”, he opined.
His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo
The President also announced that the Borteyman sports infrastructure will be the start of the University of Sports and Development, which will be under the auspices of the Ministry of Youth and Sports, University of Ghana and the University for Development Studies to ensure sustainability and continuity.
He expressed appreciation to the Management of the University and the African Union for releasing the land on which the project is to be sited and for honouring Ghana with the hosting rights respectively.
In his remarks, the Minister of Youth and Sports, Hon. Mustapha Ussif, reiterated government’s commitment to the development of sporting infrastructure. “Under the leadership of the President, there has been unprecedented development in sports infrastructure”, he noted.
He was also full of appreciation to the Management of the University, led by the Acting Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Aba Appiah Amfo, and her predecessor, Prof. Ebenezer Oduro Owusu, for the unflinching support and called on all Ghanaians to embrace the project to promote development through sports.
Minister of Youth and Sports, Hon. Mustapha Ussif
Earlier, in his welcome address, Hon. Nii Afotey Agbo, Former Greater Accra Regional Minister, who spoke on behalf of the chiefs of the Nungua Traditional Council, thanked the President for siting the new project in their traditional area and assured him of the availability of space/land for future projects.
Delivering the vote of thanks, Dr. Kwaku Ofosu-Asare, Executive Chairman of the Local Organising Committee lauded the President and the dignitaries for taking time off their busy schedules to grace the ceremony.
The Acting Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Nana Aba Amfo, after the ceremony, disclosed that the collaboration between the University and the Ministry of Youth and Sports was a positive one. She stated, “the University of Ghana is happy to partner the Ministry of Sports to host these games. The University is adequately represented on the Local Organising Committee as an indication of this partnership. The games provide an avenue for unearthing young talents, an ideal which coincides with one our objectives as a University”.
Acting Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Nana Aba Amfo
Dr. Bella Bello Bitugu, Director, Sports Directorate, expressed satisfaction about the University’s efforts in combining sports and academia. He mentioned that since the University will serve as the Games Village during the 13th Africa Games in 2023, the UG Stadium will be completed to an international standard, able to host any international competition. Dr. Bitugu added that as part of the package, a new international standard Rugby field and a warm-up athletic oval will be constructed as well as the renovation of selected halls of residence.
Fifty-six years ago (July 1965), the All-African Games (now christened African Games) was hosted by Congo Brazzaville for over 2,500 athletes from 30 countries. Nigeria hosted the Games in 1973; Algeria, in 1978 and Kenya, in 1987. Subsequently, the African Games were held in Egypt, South Africa and Mozambique. Congo Brazaville hosted the 2015 edition to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Games after which Morocco hosted them in 2019. The 50,000-capacity Accra-Borteyman Olympic Stadium Complex, together with the yet-to-be upgraded stadia in the University and elsewhere, would have facilities for about 25 sporting disciplines during the 2023 Games.
University officials present at the Sod-cutting Ceremony included Mrs. Emelia Agyei-Mensah, Registrar; Mr. Charles Kofinti, Director, Physical Development and Municipal Services Directorate (PDMSD); Mrs. Elizier T. Ameyaw-Buronyah, Director, Public Affairs Directorate and Mrs. Arhizah Blay-Abiti, Senior Assistant Registrar, Office of the Acting Vice-Chancellor.
The sod-cutting ceremony was well attended by Ministers of State, Members of Parliament, past and current sports personalities, chiefs, members of the diplomatic corps as well as the media fraternity.
