Upper East Regional Minister Mr Mark Woyongo at the weekend inaugurated a 15 member Regional Sports Council Board. Mr Woyongo said sports and games has become important tools for growth and development all over the world and that all actors in sports, academia, private sector, government agencies and international organizations should collaborate to ensure national and international development. The Regional Minister said there was the need for sports to be used also to address conflicts and unite the people and not only as its main objective of entertainment and honour. Mr Woyongo said it was government's intention to intensify sporting activities in second cycle institutions as was done in the past to unearth talents for national sporting activities. He said government was drawing a programme to refurbish and upgrade sporting facilities in the various Senior High Schools and Colleges to encourage and instill sporting discipline and interest in students. The Minister reminded members of the Board to promote, encourage and develop sports in the Region, especially with the lesser known sports to engage the youth at their leisure times. Mr Woyongo said that since sports and games have become increasingly part of human endeavour and assume some corporate social responsibility there was the need to develop common definitions and framework for action in other to improve upon sports in the region. He said sports, especially football, was the passion of the nation and tends to bring the people together despite their political, religious, social or ethnic background and value fitness; fair play, teamwork and the pursuit of excellence are universalism. The Regional Sports Development Officer, Mr Ewuntomah Iddrisu, pledged the Board's readiness to provide the needed technical support to boost the confidence of the youth to take up sports seriously to achieve the needed results. Mr Iddrisu, however, lamented about the lack of sufficient funds for the development of sports and sporting activities in the Region and therefore appealed to the Regional Minister who is the Chairman of the Board to help address that concern. Source: GNA