The President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has officially commissioned the multipurpose Borteyman Sports complex that would host Ghana’s first ever All Africa Games showpiece since independence.
The ceremonious event which was held on Tuesday 13th February 2024, forms part of the 25-day countdown to the holding of Africa’s biggest multi-disciplinary sporting event at the Borteyman Sports Facilities and the newly constructed facilities at the University of Ghana.
According to the Sports Minister, The Borteyman sports complex has a 1,000-seater capacity swimming pool, comprising a 10-lane competition swimming pool and an eight-lane warm-up swimming pool, alongside a multi-purpose Sports Hall with a 1,000 seater capacity for various events such as basketball, badminton, netball, table tennis, and weightlifting.
In addition, there is a 500-seater temporary facility for handball, volleyball, judo, karate, taekwondo, fencing, arm-wrestling, and a five-tennis court complex, including a 1,000-seater Center Court.
Speaking at the commissioning ceremony held at the forecourt of the sports complex, President Akufo-Addo expressed the country’s readiness of hosting Africa for the biggest sporting event on the continent.
“It has been a long journey for us, which has been characterized by uncertainties following the unexpected effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on our infrastructure development plans and general preparation. However, we demonstrated commitment and resilience.”
“And when all hope appeared lost, we came up with a brilliant idea of adopting a hybrid approach to hosting the games, thus using facilities at the University of Ghana, which were under construction, as well as selected facilities we could develop on time here in Borteyman.”
“This decision to adopt the hybrid method has proved to be a wise one, as facilities both at the University of Ghana and here in Borteyman are ready for the hosting of the 13th edition of the Africa Games.”
“Despite loud calls by some pessimists for our nation to withdraw from hosting the tournament, we remained resolute and today, our country can be proud of the massive sporting infrastructure we’re putting in place for the games. It will be a huge legacy for the country.” said the president.
President Akufo-Addo also said, “There is a time for everything, and this is our time. We are now ready and capable of organizing and hosting the rest of the continent here in Ghana. The people and Government of Ghana are honored and grateful to the Africa Union for the opportunity to host the rest of Africa for the first time in our history.”
The games will host about five thousand elite athletes, three thousand experienced officials, and thousands of fans in the country, in addition to an estimated global audience of 2.2 billion people watching through traditional and social media.
Source: A1Radioonline.com|101.1MHZ|Pius Asack|Bolgatanga|
