Athletics coach, Andrew Owusu, has urged government to invest a little bit more into athletics and athlete development if it wants better results.

He was speaking in defence of the current practice where local athletes who are academically good are given scholarship opportunities to attend university in the USA where they join the collegiate athletics system there.

The practice has however come under fire for its failure to produce as many professional athletes as expected.

In the past 10 years, about 100 local athletes have benefitted from the scholarship system; however, only two have managed to secure professional athletes contracts after school.

Speaking on PM Express, Andrew Owusu noted that the reason for the practice to churn out more professional athletes is due largely to the investment bottleneck after the athletes complete school.

“And that’s the thing we often don’t reflect on, how much it takes to develop these athletes to the next level. And when I say the next level I’m talking about the global level; being able to qualify for world championships, Olympic games and Commonwealth games. And it takes a lot of money,” he said.

He said government has failed to provide a smooth transition for athletes from the collegiate system into professional practice.

“So I don’t deem it a failure per se in terms of not getting professionals. I think what’s more important is whether as a country we can support these athletes post their collegiate careers. Because the alternative is to say that ‘ok you run fast enough, or figure out how you’re going to run fast enough, become a professional and then hopefully Ghana reaps some reward from that.’”

The coach stated that it behoves on government to find a way to sustain athletes even after the collegiate level in order for them to continue competing for Ghana.

 “As George mentioned, being a professional is also not easy because a lot of the things that we may take for granted at the collegiate level is gone. Now you’re responsible for your own health insurance, you’re responsible for your entire upkeep, paying coaches, physios and all those things add up. It’s actually a significant cost that is hidden when they’re in the collegiate system but then when they transition to the professional level it also becomes a problem.

“ And so for me I’ll like us to focus, perhaps maybe redirect that question as to how can we sustain or get them to the level where they’re able to compete and do really well at the global stage. The professional way will be one way to go assuming they’re running fast enough to secure a contract but I also think as a country perhaps we need to invest a little bit more,” he said.