KMA sub-c’ttee kicks against playing football to avoid the COVID-19 spread
The Youth and Sports Sub-Committee of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) has embarked on a community sensitisation programme to educate the youth on how to protect themselves against contracting the coronavirus.
Delegation
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The sub-committee, led by its Chairman, Mr Akwasi Kwarteng, an Assembly Member for Dote Duase, visited four community parks in three sub-metros in the metropolis to interact with the youth who were playing football in spite of the ban on football. They were Borla Park at Akwatia Line, Ash Town Park at Ash Town, Konadu Yiadom Park at Buokrom and Duase Park at Duase.
The team met the youth actively playing football under the guise of exercising. Mr Kwarteng told the youth that the virus was contracted mainly through personal contact with an infected person or object. He, therefore, advised them to desist from playing football, which was a contact game.
Advice
According to him, there was no way one could play football without touching a teammate or opponent, and as such they could easily contract the virus if any of them was infected, hence the need to stop playing football.
He rather suggested that they run around the field and do some aerobic exercises as a way of keeping fit.
He also advised them to adhere to the safety and hygiene protocols of wearing nose masks when in public, washing hands with soap under running water and staying home if they had nothing important to do outside.
Protocols
Even though all the players had nose masks, they kept it in their sports bags while playing the game. They explained that it was impossible to breathe well wearing the mask while playing and so they decided to remove it.
At Konadu Yiadom Park, one of the players, Shadrack Imoro, was grateful to the team for the education and advice. He admitted that they were aware of the ban on football but thought because of where they were, no one would come there and ask them to stop.
Mr Imoro said most of them had lost their jobs as a result of the pandemic and were at home doing nothing. He appealed to the government to turn its attention to the youth and find something for them to do, particularly those who were out of jobs.