Ghana continues to make inroads into the field of sports, especially on the global athletics scene. The latest milestone is the qualification of our athletics quartet for the World Athletics Championship to be held in Tokyo this September.

A few days ago, the Ghanaian athletics quartet of Barnabas Aggerh, Joseph Paul Amoah, Mustapha Alufar Bokpin, and Ibrahim Fusieni cruised to second place behind France to qualify for the World Athletics Championship with a sea­son-best time of 38.32 seconds at the Guangzhou Relay.

This was followed by an out­standing individual performance by our 100-metre record holder and veteran, Benjamin Azamati, who clocked 9.98 seconds at the McNabb Sprint Series to also qualify for the World Athletics Championship.

The Ghanaian Times com­mends our gallant athletes for qualifying for this prestigious global competitive event. You have made us proud once again!

Indeed, Ghana has consis­tently qualified for high-profile athletics competitions over the years, largely due to the tenacity, resilience, competitive spirit, patriotism, and strong character demonstrated by our young athletes.

But the question that often eludes us in the midst of the euphoria is: At what cost are these young athletes making us proud?

It is unfortunate that financ­ing for the education of most, if not all, of our athletes relies on the benevolence of foreign countries that offer them schol­arships.

We dare say that, but for these scholarships, our athletes might not be competing on the global stage because of the con­stant refrain of “No money,” which has become a cliché in our national discourse.

The Ghanaian Times recalls how our high jump hero, Ev­ans Cadman Yamoah, hit the headlines for the wrong reasons shortly after giving his all to win gold for Ghana at the 2023 African Games held in Accra.

Mr Yamoah nearly dropped out of school in the US for the simple reason that he had run out of funds to complete his education—when all he needed was a $15,000 bail-out!

Fortunately, he was rescued at the last moment through the generosity of some benevolent Ghanaians, after the media highlighted his plight.

This came after, as he put it, “Efforts to solicit help from Ghanaian sports authorities, including the Sports Ministry, had yielded no results.”

Now our athletes have qual­ified for the upcoming World Athletics Championship, but the question still remains ‘and so’?

Clearly, our athletes have not received the same level of support as their counterparts in other disciplines, such as football.

In Ghana, football domi­nates when it comes to spon­sorships and other forms of support and this is often at the expense of other important sporting disciplines.

The lack of direct state sup­port for our athletes frequently forces them to walk the tight­rope of balancing their jobs with intensive training.

As a result, there is an urgent need for a support system to help our athletes excel and make us proud on the world stage.

This calls for massive invest­ment in sports!

We ask the authorities to ex­tend to our athletes the kind of support they provide to the na­tional football teams, especially the Black Stars, so our athletes can also receive their fair share of the national cake so as to be inspired and motivated to con­tinue giving out their best.

Our national sprinter and the relay quartet have done exceptionally well to qualify for the global championship event in Tokyo and we must support them to bring home the ulti­mate prize.

We at The Ghanaian Times believe their best is yet to come, however, this will require substantial sponsorship and support to achieve it.

This is a critical moment to get them well-prepared and mentally ready for this high-profile competition.

Our athletes have sacrificed so much for this country and it is now time to put our money where it matters most!