Ghana is expected be reinstated as a member of the International Tennis Federation (ITF) after the national association received a donation of 10,000 US dollars from the CEO of McDan Shipping, Danny McKorley to settle arrears with the international body.

Ghana was slapped with a ban by the ITF earlier this year after accruing three years of unpaid affiliation fees with the international body. Ghana was given a grace period which was stretched to this year.

During the grace period youngster Isaac Nortey took part in the world junior championship in Switzerland while the junior national team also participated and excelled in an ITF West  Central African tournament in Lome, Togo. The ban prevented Ghana from partcipating in any ITF-sanctioned activity after it was activated.

This included administratve courses, tournaments and scholarship programmes for talented players.

At a brief presentation ceremony at the Ministry of Youth and Sports, Mr McKorley, who is a tennis enthusiast said "the decision to support the sport is inspired by my passion for the sport and I wanted to extend this gesture to support the national association to restore the image of the nation. There are many undiscovered tennis talents in the country which can be unearthed and when they are supported they can go places." 

Mr McKorley also used the opportunity to announce his outfit's plan to build an ultra-modern tennis arena in Accra as well as introduce the McDan Open tournament on the local tennis calendar. "Tennis is a big sport all over the world and its rather sad that Ghana has to experience this problem. At my company we are committed to fulfilling our social responsibility and also want to help the sport to develop," Mr McKorley told Joy Sports.

Youth and Sports Minister Elvis Afriyie Ankrah who received the cheque on behalf of the GTA encouraged more corporate support for sports to enable non-football disciplines grow.    

Ghana tennis has seen major challenges over the last few years most of which are financial. Due to the lack of sponsorship, the Ghana Tennis Association (GTA) has had major challenges organising tournaments. This is also compounded with the nation's inability to qualify from Euro-Africa Zone Three of the Davis Cup. The junior national teams have remained Ghana's brightest spot in tennis with consistent medal-winning performances at major tournaments.