GOC to embark on fund-raising for Commonwealth Games
The Ghana Olympic Committee (GOC) will by the close of next month embark on a rigorous fund-raising exercise aimed at mobilising enough funds to support federations and athletes who will be competing in the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia next year.
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The GOC is, therefore, setting up a working structure in the form of a board by close of next week to be supported by nine sub-committees which will become the working arm of the board.
“The sub-committees as the working arm of the board will discuss and put together programmes and activities of all that the GOC wants to do at the committee levels for approval from the board”, says Mr Nunoo Mensah, president of the GOC.
Mr Nunoo Mensah, who made this known when the Graphic Sports caught up with him exclusively at the GOC office last Friday, also explained that there would be a new financial structure supported by a good accounting software to ensure transparency, accountability and proper financial discipline at the committee.
Above all, he said, he and his team would bring on board professional administrative structures which would be efficient enough to ensure that all administrative works were professionally done.
The sub-committees, which would include anti-doping, media relations, Finance and marketing, would be diverse in composition to include representatives of every federation.
This, he said was to ensure the involvement of all in the programmes and activities, as well as the decision-making of the GOC, pointing out that a team of media personnel would be attached to the various federations to help project and make good brands out of those disciplines and to make them attractive for corporate association or adoption.
On the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia next year, he said a working team would be put in place by close of next week, to step up preparations for athletes to be ready for the games.
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“We want to work with the government to be able to raise more funds so that we can decentralise by sending athletes to countries where they could have access to the best of facilities and preparations and assemble in a week or two to the games before emplaning to Australia”, he noted.
“So far our sponsorship drive has been very good although we are just about a week in office. Indomie during the launch of the Gold Coast Games gave us the assurance they would support our athletes to the tune of 200, 000 Ghana cedis a year and most of this is going to be in the form of apparels.
“We are also in discussion with Rush Energy Drinks, which is supporting the GOC to the tune of 300, 000 Ghana cedis a year, McDan Shipping and Techno, among others, have also given a hint of their support”, Mr Nunoo Mensah said,
“I am also engaging the Minister of Youth and Sports (Isaac Asiamah) to encourage other corporate organisations to, as part of their social responsibilities, adopt some of the disciplines and support them just as GNPC is doing for the Black Stars”, he added.
Sharing his thoughts on athletes who switched nationality to other countries, the GOC president expressed regret at the trend and said the athletes sacrificed a lot for the country but were not adequately appreciated and mentioned that he was making effort to get in touch with those athletes.
“In as much as I want our athletes to be patriotic, I will also ask that we do our part as a country to motivate and meet the needs of these athletes. I will also meet the Ghana Athletics Association (GAA) and all who matter, with respect to Martha Bissah, so we bring her back into our fold because she has a huge potential”.