‘Don’t let old sports icons die with knowledge, experience’

A former national athlete, Robert Hackman is asking the Sports Ministry and the National Sports Authority to provide a platform for successful former national stars to document their achievements to serve as a guide and inspiration to young sportsmen and women in the future.

According to Mr Hackman, most of the former sportsmen and sportswomen who put Ghana’s name in the international sporting limelight are without any documented evidence such as biographies and memoirs, and the nation risk losing such important information that will serve as a guide and inspiration for those who want to also excel in their chosen sports event.

Robert Hackman, a long distance runner and Ghana’s steeplechase record holder since 1972, made the call in the wake of the death of another illustrious son in Ghana football, Coach Sam Arday, last week.

“Apart from Ben Koufie and to some extent, Nana Kumi Gyamfi I or C.K. Gyamfi as we all called him, who managed to pen something down about their careers, most of our former national stars who excelled in their chosen fields, have no memoirs or biographies penned down and this is not good enough for the future of a sporting nation like Ghana.

“Gradually, we are losing all these old former stars or significant people who played important roles in Ghana sports during their prime and they are leaving with all their wealth of knowledge, achievements and experience which could serve as a guide and motivation to the budding stars.

“I think the nation through its agencies, the Sports ministries and National Sports Authority (NSA) must as a matter of policy and intent of preserving these valuable memories, must help in documenting these for posterity and to help Ghana sports in the future,” the USA-based Hackman, who since 1974 has also held the national record in the 5,000m, told the Graphic Sports in reaction to coaches Fred Osam Duodu, E.K. Afranie and Arday’s death.

“Perhaps, due to lack of information about the importance of such memoirs and biographies, these old sports men and women have not found the need to get qualified people to work on their behalf. For some, it may even be the cost involved, and this is where I expect the sports ministry, NSA and even the sports journalists to lead the way and help. Elsewhere, these pay off for these old stars, so why can’t we make it also beneficial in Ghana?” Hackman queried.

“We have always paid lip service when it comes to these things. Look at the Hall of Fame that was supposed to be have put up. What happened to it? We still have the likes of Mike Ahey, Coach E.K Antwi under whose watch Ghana chalked many successes in track and field still around, yet they have remained quiet in their corners, yet there is so much we could tap from them before they leave this world.

We should not wait for them to die before we try to eulogise them. The befitting honour is to help them to document their knowledge and experience which will be beneficial to the nation in the end,” Bob Hackman, clearly, agitated, said in a telephone conversation.