The Ghana Olympic Committee (GOC) has raised concern over what it describes as inadequate funding for sports development in the country, warning that it remains the biggest threat to Ghana’s progress across multiple disciplines.
GOC President Richard Akpokavie made the remarks at the Committee’s Annual General Assembly held on Saturday, May 16, in Accra.
He noted that the GOC is still awaiting funding to prepare Ghanaian athletes for major international competitions, including the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, scheduled for July, and the Youth Olympic Games in Dakar in October 2026.
According to him, delayed budgetary allocations continue to affect athlete preparation and participation at international events.
“The time has come for us to speak candidly about this issue, which threatens to undermine all the progress we have made. Budgetary allocations to sports remain inadequate, and even approved funds are often released late or not at all. We respectfully appeal for the timely release of the limited funds approved for sports, because preparation for international competitions begins months before the actual events,” he said.
Mr. Akpokavie appealed directly to corporate Ghana to broaden its investment in sports, arguing that while football remains the country’s most popular sport, athletes in other disciplines also deserve support and opportunities.
The GOC president said that Ghana has more than 24 Olympic sports and 10 non-Olympic sports whose athletes continue to bring honour to the country, but often receive little financial backing.
“Even if football receives $10 million or $5 million for World Cup campaigns, give the GOC $2 million or $1 million for the Commonwealth Games,” he stated.
He added that young athletes across the country, from Gambaga to Keta, also aspire to excel in sports such as boxing, hockey, badminton, cycling, volleyball, and canoeing, stressing that they, too, deserve support.
Ghana will be sending about 40 athletes and 21 officials to compete in athletics, boxing, cycling, judo, para athletics, para powerlifting, para swimming, and weightlifting.
Mr. Akpokavie expressed confidence that Team Ghana would perform strongly despite the Games being a scaled-down version compared to Birmingham 2022.
Looking ahead to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games, Mr. Akpokavie said the GOC’s ultimate objective is to qualify as many athletes as possible and position them to win medals.
“We must never lose sight of the fact that the ultimate goal of this quadrennial is for the GOC to qualify as many athletes as possible for the 2028 Olympic Games and to position them to win medals,” he added.
