He said sports had a lot of positive impact if the right attention was given to it, especially at the local level.

“It must again be appreciated that making sports one of the pillars of growth and development of the region (Western Region) would not only be for the business of it, but also for inculcating in the youth – values system, patriotism, healthy lifestyles, teamwork, self-discipline, gender-mainstreaming, leadership skills, ethics, integrity, clean sport, gender equality, national unity and cohesion as well as rule of law amongst other attributes from participating in sports. The gains are equally for both performers and spectators,” he said.

Mr. Danquah said this at the inauguration of the Western Region Sport Committee (WRSC) and the maiden strategic workshop on the theme; “Awakening the sport economy of western region,” in the Western Region.

He said, Ghana had failed to take advantage of the value of the numerous opportunities that comes with Sports Business and its economy.

He urged the WRSC to take a decision on promoting traditional games and sports within their own cultural settings for possibilities to grow them into national games.

“Fortunately for you, Ghana will be hosting the 13th African Games in 2023 and the WRSC should begin to work towards qualifying as many performers from the Region for the national teams as possible, starting now!”

“The Good Lord also endows people, all sorts of people with diverse talents that there will take comparative advantage and the WRSC will have to identify these disciplines which would easily produce stars for the various national teams in the country. Obviously from history, we could look at Football, Boxing, Athletics, Tennis and Basketball and make them the backbone of the Regional Sport Plan.”