American-born Ghanaian unicyclist, Trey Haun Manboora, says his reason for representing Ghana on the global stage in unicycling championships is because of the hospitality of Ghanaians.

In an exclusive interview with JoySports' Muftawu Nabila Abdulai after winning gold in this year's unicycle championships in Minnesota, USA, Trey shared his deep affection for Ghana.

“I like Ghana. There may be a few nice things in the US, but Ghana has such amazing people who are so hospitable and generous and just so nice and welcoming,” he said.

“You can just go out and talk with anyone in town, meet anyone, and everyone’s so open. That is what is so amazing about Ghana -- the people,” he added.

William Haun, Trey’s father, explained why representing Ghana was a natural choice for his son.

“This year, the whole of Africa at the unicycle World Championships, only three countries represented: Ghana, Morocco, and South Africa. Trey has spent his life in Ghana, so Ghana is home, Ghana is life for him. He never felt quite right carrying the American flag,” William stated.

“There are plenty of US citizens participating, but because the rules state if you are a legal resident in a country, you can represent that country. They even made us prove it. We had to bring his passport when we registered and show our Ghana resident permit before they added Ghana to his name.”

Trey, who is now 17, first came to Ghana when was just one according to his father. When the family settled in Ghana in 2014, he took into Unicycle and he's impacting the young ones in Nalerigu, where they are based.

He believes Ghana has potential in many disciplines beyond football and boxing.

“Ghana needs more recognition. We all love Ghana for football -- the Black Stars. We are proud of them, the Africa Cup; they do well, okay, most of the time but not all the time. But it’s good to get our name out in some other sports.

“We also have a good name in Ghana for boxing; some very talented boxing stars go to the Olympics. But unicycling is a great way to raise awareness of the talent here. I keep wanting to put focus on our club in Ghana because, outside of Nigeria, I believe it’s the only Club in Africa,” he noted.

Their pride extends to the young talents in Ghana. “We are just so proud of all the boys and girls. One of them, I know, would have won a medal if we had managed to bring him. Warisu Alhassan is a very talented young man that Manboora trained, and one day he will go far."

Raising awareness for Ghana and the Mamprugu unicycle club, which was founded by young Trey after winning silver in the last unicycle championship are the key motivations for the family.

“People are so excited when they see him in a Ghana jersey. Strangers come up and they go, ‘We know this jersey, Ghana,’ and you see, he even covered the football logo with the Mamprugu Unicycle Club, so that it’s an official unicycle jersey. We are just managing,” Trey's father concluded.