The University of Ghana (UG) has once again claimed gold in the ongoing Ghana University Sports Association (GUSA) Games.
After the women’s tennis doubles team clinched the first gold for the premier university, the UG women’s goalball team followed suit, securing another gold for Team UG.
UG faced off against the University of Education, Winneba (UEW) in the final on Thursday, January 9, at the S.K. Adjepong Lecture Theatre. UG dominated UEW in the first half, leading 8-0 at halftime.
UG added four more goals in the second half, while UEW managed to score two, resulting in a final score of 12-2.
In sharing his thoughts on winning gold, the head coach of the UG goalball team, Benedict Sarpei Ntreh, expressed his satisfaction, noting that the journey to the final had not been easy.
“It feels good, it’s a joy. It hasn’t been easy, especially our first match against KNUST. They have the height, the build, and they are very strong, but we’ve been in this for a long time, and we defeated them. We showed them that goalball belongs to us.”
Since the introduction of goalball in the GUSA Games, UG women have consistently claimed gold, with the exception of the 2022 edition held at KNUST.
However, the women have bounced back in 2024 to reclaim their gold status. Coach Benedict revealed the secret to their success:
“It’s all about having a good coach and attentive players. Discipline is key. In anything, if you have a good coach, you’re good to go. And if you have good players who listen to you, you’re good to go. It’s all about training and discipline.”
UG began their goalball campaign on January 6 with a commanding 19-9 victory over Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in the first half, forcing the Kumasi-based university to forfeit. UG then defeated Ghana Communication Technology University (GCTU) and hosts the University of Cape Coast (UCC) 11-1, before advancing to the final.
Goalball was introduced at the GUSA Games in 2014 when UCC hosted the event. The sport was introduced to provide visually impaired students with an opportunity to compete, as no other sport was available for them at the time.
Goalball, which is played at the international level, was an exhibition event in the 2014 GUSA Games to raise awareness and educate people about the game. It became a competitive event at the GUSA Games in 2016 when UEW hosted the games.
