Archery and Triathlon not recognized under Ghana’s Sports Authority
Two Federations/Associations that have been listed as accredited bodies that have voting rights at the impending Ghana Olympic Committee (GOC), are not recognized by the National Sports Authority (NSA).
The Archery Federation of Ghana (AFG) and Triathlon Federation of Ghana (TFG) have been said to be sanctioned by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), according to a list copied to the Benson Tongo Baba, led Ghana Olympic Committee (GOC) and therefore are endorsed to participate in the Congress, even though they are not known by the governing authority on Sports in the country.
According to information gathered by GNA Sports from the NSA, the two Federations are not recognized by the law under the Authority and their presence on the list of Associations that have voting rights at the impending Congress came as a surprise to the Authority.
A credible and a highly placed source who pleaded for anonymity at the NSA, said the two Federations have never existed in the books of the Authority and have never applied to be under the NSA as stated by the laws governing the operations of the NSA.
“They have never organized any event supervised by the NSA. We have never seen any of their leadership and the NSA is at a lost as to how they came about as well as their affiliation to the GOC”. The source told GNA Sports.
The source stated that, Archery and Triathlon were not common in the country and no individual or organization has sought the permission of the NSA to form any Federation/Association to represent them.
The Archery and Thriatlon Federations, according to the GOC have been recognized by their respective International Federations and would send delegates to the GOC Congress scheduled for the Miklin Hotel, Kumasi on October 29.
Archery is expected to be represented by Herbert Lawson and Mrs. Evelyn Ofosu Amarfo, whilst Triathlon would be represented by Sandy Osei Agyeman, former President of the Ghana Athletics Association (GAA).
Elections of the GOC have over the past weeks been a major subject for discussion, following disagreements over the Election Guidelines, which is said to have restrictive conditions for aspiring candidates.
Though the IOC has directed the Benson Tongo Baba-led administration to remove such restrictive conditions to make the elections free and fair, the GOC boss has on the other hand rebuffed the directives at a press conference saying, “the IOC cannot tell the GOC what it should do”.
There seems therefore to be a looming tension ahead of the elections, as some Chairmen of the various Federations/Association have rejected the guidelines and planning to stage another Congress before October 29.
Source: GNA