Former President of the Ghana Football Association, Kwesi Nyantakyi, has pledged to dedicate the rest of his life to supporting the welfare of prisoners in Ghana.

His promise was made during the launch of the Prisons Football Project on Tuesday, June 3, 2025, at the Nsawam Medium Security Prison. The initiative, in partnership with the Professional Footballers Association of Ghana (PFAG), seeks to harness the power of sport as a tool for reform and reintegration.

As part of the launch, Nyantakyi and his team donated footballs, jerseys, basketballs, volleyballs, and other equipment to the Ghana Prisons Service.

Speaking at the event, Mr. Nyantakyi announced his personal commitment to champion the welfare of inmates.

“From a personal position, I want to commit myself to working to better the lot of prisoners for the rest of my life. I would never have thought about prison until two weeks ago when I came here to visit my brother from Wa, Alhaji Inusah. We met him there [in prison]. We all went to the same school—Maxwell Konadu, Kwame Ayew—and they all played for Upper West Heroes Football Club with Inusah,” he said.

He narrated how his friend and former club chairman, Alhaji Inusah, ended up in prison.

“When I formed Wa All Stars, he was the first chairman of the club for about five years. One day, he went to his land in Wa because he had heard that some people were selling it.

“He went there with a pump-action gun and they threatened to beat him. They were many, numbering up to 12, so he decided to issue a warning shot. The mistake he made was that, instead of issuing the shot in the air, he shot on the ground, and the bullets ricocheted and hit two innocent people over 100 metres away… They were not connected to the issue and they died. That's what sent him to jail, so it could happen to anybody.”

Mr. Nyantakyi added that he would engage lawyers to reopen cases of some inmates who lacked legal representation during trial.

“Because of that, I have decided to engage lawyers to reopen cases of some inmates who did not have legal representation. I will pay for it. I have also engaged to file an appeal for Alhaji Inusah.

“This is life. Any of us could have been in this situation.”

Deputy Director of Prisons, Patrick Thomas Seidu, commended the initiative and urged the public to view incarceration as an opportunity for reform.

“I want all of us here to send a good message out there that incarceration does not mean the end of the world. They are here to reform, and it's our duty to help them reform and fit into society. Let me mention that their basic rights are not trampled upon. They've only offended the law, but that does not mean that their human rights are to be trampled upon. It's only part of their liberties that are curtailed to transform and shape them so that when they go out there, they'll be law-abiding citizens.”

The Prisons Football Project is expected to use sport as a tool for rehabilitation, morale building, and eventual reintegration of inmates into society.