SWAG in this era of sports tragedy!
Last Saturday night afforded me the opportunity to access closely the Sports Writers Association of Ghana (SWAG) of this wonderful Coast of Gold and my observation was that the founding fathers who instituted the grand awards ceremony did not toil in vain.
Advertisement
Of course, my problem is that over the years, the national conception of pleasurable growth and the respectable degree of progress made in the past over Africa and the Commonwealth has been dwindling to our discomfort, and that this present era under the famous TV sports commentator, Kwabena Yeboah, must have a lot of work to do.
Just watch the clash of events almost at the same period. What is more intriguing than acknowledging the newly-elected FA Executive Committee to be entrusted with the progress of football at the highest level, within the same week that the nation's biggest sports excellence awards happened at the State Banquet Hall in Accra under the auspices of SWAG.
Notable in last Saturday's ceremony was more or less the public outdooring of Kwabena Yeboah and his team who had earlier been sworn in by the association's Acting Chief Patron, His Excellency Nii Amarkai Amarteifio at the Alisa Hotel in Accra. And interestingly, the two latest events took place just about the time the nation was at crossroads with our women football team, the Black Queens demanding their due bonuses, creating hue and cry to attract the attention of the President of the land, His Excellency John Dramani Mahama who was expected to address the world at the most influential international forum at the United Nations in New York. And what a hell of a clash of events.
The Black Queens also held the nation to ransom at the M-Plaza Hotel in Accra around the same time, and it needed the intervention of President Mahama to stop the degree at which the nation was being disgraced. This came immediately after the poor showing of our 350-man contingent at the 11th All Africa Games in Congo Brazzaville.
The SWAG Awards Night, which was graced by the Minister of Youth and Sports, Dr Mustapha Ahmed, Nana Kobina Nketsia V, the Omanhen of Essikado Traditional Area in the Western Region, ministers, ambassadors and other high dignitaries, gave credence to the recognition of SWAG and the importance of the awards which has been going on consistently for over 40 years.
To be frank, Kwabena Yeboah and his team, and all members of the association have come to inherit a situation which, as Nana Nketsia, the Guest of Honour said in his principal speech, "calls for drastic measures to chart a realistic plan for sports development to help avoid most of the errors created in the past".
Over the years, SWAG has done all it could to draw the attention of stakeholders in sports to unproductive doctrines such as political interference which erode the gains made in the past. And Nii Amarkai Amartefio reiterated the need to constantly remind the nation of our pitfalls that hinder our progress. Remember it was that sort of political interference that forced the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to suspend Ghana a few years ago.
To me, why was it necessary to mobilise over 350 athletes to Brazzaville, knowing that most of them fell below the standards required at such a high performance event? And could we say all those sportsmen and women were there on merit or was it a matter of joining the bandwagon just to enjoy the booty which was supposed to be shared, however small?
These are some of the problems the new SWAG president and his team have come to meet and, for obvious reasons, all of us should help them to impress upon the powers that be to chart a new course to ensure that we improve upon standards to avoid being taken for a ride by our neighbours in Africa and elsewhere. It must be noted that since the IOC’s suspension, we have been sinking. In actual fact, SWAG must put its shoulder to the wheel to help push the vehicle from danger to a safe position.
We are in an era of sports tragedy, and the expectation is that the award winners will live up to their promise to perform better in the years ahead so long as they are still young enough to rise to the occasion. We expect them to endeavour to write their names in letters of gold after more serious training.
Meanwhile, my special congratulation goes to young Martha Bissah for winning the "Discovery of the Year" and "Athlete of the Year" awards. Martha looks quite young and fresh and one could see the championship still resonating in her. And if the awards are anything to go by, then they should inspire her to train seriously to qualify for next year’s Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. Her trainer, Nii Odartey Lamptey, who won the "Coach of the Year" award, must be well refreshed to carry on with his training regime that will help Martha to regain her form. Most of us will be highly disappointed if we don't see her in the next Olympics contingent.
Living in an era like this calls for hard work, and do we need to call on SWAG to tighten their belts? Congrats, Kwabena! God bless!