The organisers, the Coca-Cola Bottling Company of Ghana Limited and RITE Sports in a statement said even though no case of Omicron has been reported in Ghana, the number of people the event attracts forced them to suspend it.

"This decision has become necessary due to the new COVID variant (omicron) spread recently reported and the safety concerns and health risk it poses for such programs/gatherings," the statement said.

"Even though no case of Omicron has been reported in Ghana, the leaderships of The Coca-Cola Bottling Company of Ghana Limited and RITE Sports, considering the great number of people this event attracts, have decided to suspend the Sprite Ball Xpressions until further notice to protect the safety of customers.

The new variant has been reported in Botswana following its discovery in South Africa on November 24. Germany, Italy, Belgium, Czech Republic, Israel and Hong Kong have also reported cases of infection.

"The team is monitoring the sensitive and fluid situation and will advise all partners about the appropriate time to organize the next Sprite Ball Xpressions. We apologize for any inconvenience this action has caused".

The Sprite Ball Xpressions formerly known as Sprite Ball Championship is Ghana's biggest High School Basketball competition with 14 editions successfully staged since January 2007.