The National Sports Authority (NSA), as part of its mandate, has inspected the sporting facilities at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) ahead of the 27th edition of the Ghana Universities Sports Association (GUSA) Games.
Themed “Harnessing Sports Talents of Students for National Development through Competition using Science and Technology,” the GUSA is expected to attract thousands of people from across Ghana and beyond.
The games will take place from 4th to 19th November,, 2022, at the KNUST campus and sixteen institutions are expected to participate in the 27th GUSA Games.
Sports disciplines to feature at the biennial showpiece, which was suspended following the outbreak Covid-19, include athletics, basketball, beach volley, football, handball, hockey, netball, table tennis, tennis and other disciplines.
During the inspection, which was marked with preparations of KNUST teams ahead of the games, the NSA visited the Paa Joe Stadium, basketball court, tennis court, beach volleyball court, and other facilities.
Addressing the media after the inspection, the Acting Ashanti Regional Director of the NSA, Emmanuel Kojo Appiah, who represented the Director General of the Authority, expressed satisfaction with the level of preparation by the host institution.
He noted that, as the host, what KNUST had already put in place was impressive.
Asked about what the NSA had contributed ahead of the games, Kojo Appiah responded that, it was the duty of the NSA to support KNUST, adding that from the beginning of preparations for the GUSA Games, the authority had been supporting the university, adding that in the event that the host institution needed assistance, it had to alert the NSA which would see how best to assist KNUST for a successful GUSA Games.
On his part, Mr. Timothy Kwabena Mensah, Sports Director of KNUST, told the media that almost all courts and fields were ready, and that it was left with a few touches.
Touching on the preparations of the athletics, he disclosed that everybody was ready and that they were playing friendly matches, signaling that they were ready.
He said: “KNUST is really poised and ready, come November 4-19, 2022.”
Asked if their near-completed facilities could meet the deadline of the showpiece, Director Kwabena Mensah responded that majority of their facilities were ready, that is basketball, volleyball, football, beach volleyball, and that it was left with some small works.
Quizzed if KNUST could win the GUSA Games, he told the media that they were doing their best to achieve that aim, because it has been a long time since the university had won the GUSA Game.
“I do not remember the last time they won, but we are putting things in place to win a lot of medals.”
In a related development, the Board Chairman of Ghana’s para-sports, Dr. Iyke Donkor, donated some fertilisers and other materials to the Sports Directorate of KNUST, which were to aid the preparation of the KNUST pitch for the Games.
