Dr. Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah, Western Regional Minister and MP for Takoradi has urged members of Western and Western North regional Sports Writers Association (SWAG) to contribute their quota in treating sports in the country with a business mindset, as it is the only way to make the venture sustainable.
“While some people are running football as a business, we are still treating it as a social service, and everything which is a social service is not sustainable, unless you are always waiting for someone to bring in the money. When you rely on dole outs to run the game, you would never have enough to run it in the manner that will yield profits”, Hon. Darko-Mensah said while SWAG paid a courtesy call on him in his office at the Regional Coordinating Council.
“… I believe that you can use your news to turn sports into business as well, so that it will more sustainable, so that more people can have their talents being unearth, so that they can continues create wealth for their own communities”.
“We are this treating football as a joke, thus hindering the progress of the game. The few that are progressing have shown consistently that it is being run as a business principle. Take Samartex FC, Medeama SC, Skyy FC, youknow the people behinf it and how they think and run. You as journalists of the sport must champion the conversations in that light or else the EPL will continue to be imported to the country”, he added.
He further bemoaned the lack of uncertainty in the results of games in the country, charging the sports writers to use their power to sanitize the game.
He used the opportunity to address issues concerning the maintenance of some sport infrastructure in the Western Region, with particular reference to the Sekondi Sports Stadium and then Gyandu Park. He explained that latest December 2023, the contractor on the Sekondi Sports Staium will resume work on roofing the facility. We are hopeful that we will work timeously to the benefit of the sport in the region.
He assured the sports writers of his continuous support to their development, especially in the area of further education with government scholarships.
SWAG was led by chairman, George Kuntu Blankson, a veteran journalist with Skyy Power FM in Takoradi. The Regional Minister was in the company of Regional Chief Director, Frederick Agyeman.
-Information Services Department
