The artificial grass turf at the Mante Din School in Tema, which was inaugurated last Friday, is equipped with facilities such as changing rooms, floodlights, and a disability-friendly environment.

Known as the Cruyff Court, the project was constructed by the Cruyff Foundation in collaboration with the TMA, with funding from cocoa processing outfit, Cargill Ghana Limited.

Addressing the media at the inauguration, Eddie Dankwa, Chief Operating Officer of BLAG Ghana Limited, was excited about meeting the timeline for the project and called on the managers of the facility to ensure proper maintenance of the facility.

“This is one of the best artificial grass you can ever play on in Ghana and I want to call on the handlers of the facility to ensure proper maintenance to enable it to last long.

“We had to work extra hard to be able to finish the project on time and I am glad my workers managed to pull it through,” said Mr Dankwa.

Paradigm shift

The Minister of Youth and Sports, Mustapha Ussif, noted that the inauguration of facilities for training and learning was important for the country’s vision of shifting from sports promotion to development.

“The government since taking office in 2017 has inaugurated over 120 artificial turfs with the efforts of the public and private sectors.

“We believe this is the way to go if we want to unearth and nurture the talents of the youth through football,” he noted.

Talent development

Financiers of the project, Cargill Ghana, through its Managing Director, Aedo van der Weij, explained that the inauguration of the state-of-the-art facility would go a long way to promote the development of sports among the youth of Tema.

For his part, Yohane Amarh Ashitey, Chief Executive of TMA, said the importance of the facility could not be over-emphasised since it would make the youth of Kwesi Plange, Padmore, and Ashiboi electoral areas active.

He added that 16 coaches had been trained as part of the project to support activities and model leadership values on the court and in the communities.

“I am personally glad that our mantra of making Tema shine again is being manifested in some of these projects within the municipality,” he said.