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Ghana Beach Soccer Has Come Of Age – Theo Armah

Football News Ghana Beach Soccer Has Come Of Age – Theo Armah
OCT 5, 2016 LISTEN

Ghana Beach Soccer is ranked number 7 by CAF in Africa and 47th in the world by FIFA in 2016 and this feat is worthy to appreciate.

Beach Soccer is a sport that was given no chance of survival, starved of funds and resources but still, literally smashed it’s way through the bureaucracy, red tape and politics of no money syndrome in Ghana.

Today, Ghana is among the Top Eight Nations in Africa, and the Black Sharks can cause sensation by winning their first continental feat. The other nations Ghana is competing with in 2016 are Nigeria, Morocco, Libya, Egypt, Madagascar, Ivory Coast and Senegal. All of them are experienced in the sport, but trust the Black Sharks of Ghana. So far as it is football, trust Ghana to shine.

According to Deputy Coach of the Black Sharks, Theophilus Nii Armah, in 2009, the Ghana Beach Soccer Association was formed and the first organised beach soccer league was played from 2011, that was when his club Teshie United won the Championship to qualify to the Premiership.

He said Ghana was the first country to organize a league through the ingenuity of Yaw Ampofo Ankrah, the chief organizer and President of the Ghana Beach Soccer Association (GBSA). After the hard work and experience gained, Ghana is now among the best in Africa. “We have come of age” he said as he prepares the team for the African Championship in Nigeria.

Two years earlier, the association came into being following a successful application the National Sports Authority.

Officially, there was not a single beach soccer pitch in the country, not even standard sized FIFA beach soccer goalposts, and not a single qualified beach soccer referee, but the GBSA led by Yaw Ampofo Ankrah are doing their best to popularize the game at the Laboma Beach in Accra.

There had been a FIFA training for some beach soccer coaches, but they have to be refreshed, while the players are also given some orientation to improve the standard.

According to Yaw Ampofo-Ankrah; the man widely credited with introducing organised beach soccer to Ghana, it was trial and error from the onset. ” 99% of what we originally put in place was online information and published material we googled”.

The Association secured a corporate social responsibility (CSR) sponsorship package with a leading local financial institution; CAL Bank in 2011. The partnership is still ongoing. Aside CAL Bank, Volic Mineral Water and DSTV has been some of the companies behind the beach sport in Ghana.

Beach Soccer is a sport that boasts physical ability and tourism. It is also an avenue for advertising, hence an opportunity for business. The future is bright for the game, if they will get the needed support and funding.

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Sammy Heywood Okine
Sammy Heywood Okine

Sports JournalistPage: SammyHeywoodOkine

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