The Minority Caucus in Parliament has noted that Ghana’s abysmal performance at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games can be attributed to mismanagement of sports, lack of cohesive planning and vision by the sporting authorities. The Minority said it is surprising that the country was quick in putting up and rehabilitating new stadiums to host the 26th MTN Africa Cup of Nations, Ghana 2008 without putting up the needed structures for other sporting disciplines which could have developed other sporting talents to fetch the needed medals for the country. Honorable Abuga Pele, the Ranking Member of Youth and Sports told GNA Sports on Monday that the irony of the situation is that whereas other countries in the sub-region such as Nigeria, Togo, Cameroon and Cote d’Ivoire are soccer loving nations they had not neglected other sporting disciplines. He said “it is about time Ghanaians stop boasting that we are the leaders in the sub-region and face the realities since it is obvious that our sporting prowess and talent are on the downward trend and progressive measures needs to be taken to rectify the situation”. Hon. Pele who is also the Member of Parliament for Chiana- Paga Constituency in the Upper East Region said even though the Olympic Games ended amidst ecstasy last Sunday, the same cannot be said for Ghana since “we totally failed to showcase our sporting prowess.” “It was our worst performance ever at the Olympics and one can feel the disappointment of Ghanaians at the Games, which goes a long way to reflect on the way we manage our sports with many blaming the over concentration on football to the neglect of other sporting disciplines”. The Ranking Member said a lot of questions need to be asked and it is about time the National Sports Council (NSC) and the Ghana Olympic Committee (GOC) come out with answers and measures to address their shortcomings for the benefit of the country’s future sports development. He bemoaned the high number of officials to athletes in the Ghanaian delegation, mode of selection and other issues including complains of neglect and maltreatment even before the commencement of the event. Hon. Pele said the harsh reality is for all now to put aside any form of differences and look ahead so that the country does not face such humiliation in future Olympic Games. He said “we must start our preparation by developing and putting into shape certain workable structures to develop sporting disciplines that can be of benefit to the country’s goal of utilizing and developing the sporting talents as the past”. The Ranking Member noted that a lot can be achieved if the sports authorities put up proactive measures and enjoin all the various associations to put up concrete structures from the school, community and social levels and also ensure that the square pegs in round holes are removed to usher in a brighter future for Ghana sports. Source: GNA