The Ministry of Youth and Sports has directed all media houses wishing to make request for introductory letters to any high commission or embassy to route it through the Sports Writers Association of Ghana (SWAG).

A statement signed by Michael Frimpong, Head of Public Relations said the directive is to ensure effective co-ordination and smooth facilitation of the process.

“This year marks a major international sporting calendar which Ghana will be participating in, notable among them are the Brazil 2014 FIFA World Cup, the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games and the Costa Rica 2014 FIFA U – 17 Female World Cup among others.

“With the Ministry expecting to be inundated with requests from media houses for introductory letters to the respective Embassies or High Commissions for visas, we believe there is the need for one body to do the coordination hence the directive, ” said the statement.

The statement urged SWAG, the Ghana Football Association (GFA), the Ghana Olympic Committee and the National Sports Authority (NSA) to take note of the directive.