Mr Kofi Adams, the Minister for Sports and Recreation, says the government has placed renewed emphasis on school sports, as the foundation for rebuilding Ghana’s sporting excellence and nurturing the next generation of athletes.

Speaking at President John Dramani Mahama’s Citizen Engagement in Ho, Mr Adams said the decline in Ghana’s sports performance was largely because of years of inadequate investment in its development at the basic and secondary school levels.

He said President Mahama had directed that sports should become an integral part of the educational curriculum, rather than an activity dependent on available time or funding.

“The President believes we cannot develop sports if the foundation is weak. That foundation is at the school level, where children must be introduced to sports from an early age,” he said.

Mr Adams explained that the government had introduced School Sports Coordinators and Deputy Coordinators, to ensure that sporting activities were consistently organised in institutions and no longer sidelined because of academic schedules or financial constraints.

He noted that the initiative was already revitalising school sports across the country and would be strengthened further through increased investment.

The Minister said the 2026 Budget significantly increased allocations for goods and services to enable the procurement of sports equipment for schools nationwide.

He said many pupils who had never had the opportunity to use equipment for disciplines such as shot put, discus and javelin, would soon have access to them as the government expanded sports infrastructure in schools.

Mr Adams also announced the establishment of a National Sports Fund, which had received parliamentary approval to provide a dedicated source of financing for sports development.

He disclosed that President Mahama had further directed the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice to explore legal mechanisms for allocating a percentage of revenue from the National Lottery Authority and the Gaming Commission to support sports development.

The Minister stressed that the government was equally promoting recreational sports as part of efforts to combat the growing burden of non-communicable diseases.

He said regular physical activity helped reduce obesity, hypertension and other lifestyle-related diseases, making recreation an essential component of national health promotion.

“Sports is not only for competition. Recreation is equally important because it promotes healthy living and helps reduce the incidence of non-communicable diseases,” he said.

Mr Adams noted that the redevelopment of the Ho stadium would complement the Ho Airport by attracting sports teams, spectators, businesses and conferences to the region, thereby boosting economic activity.

He further disclosed that the government intended to rehabilitate community parks across the country by replacing poor-quality artificial surfaces with natural grass pitches where conditions were permitted.

The Minister said boreholes, solar-powered lighting systems and irrigation facilities would be provided to maintain the pitches throughout the year and transform them into vibrant centres for sports and recreation.

He assured residents that the Volta Region would benefit substantially from the government’s sports development agenda and pledged the Ministry’s commitment not to leave the region behind in the implementation of national sports programmes.