The Borteyman Sports Complex, a multi-disciplinary sports centre in Borteyman-Accra inaugurated merely five months ago by the President of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa, has delivered tremendous value, underscoring the need for more investment in such facilities across the country.
The inauguration of the Borteyman facility was an important and strategic investment instrumental to Ghana’s ability to host Africa’s version of the Olympic Games, the 13th African Games, just a month after completion.
The first-class facility -which boasts an aquatic centre with a 10-lane swimming pool; two indoor sports halls convenient for handball, basketball & volleyball; and a tennis court, among others – hosted more than 10 sporting disciplines during the African Games.
Deputy Director of the National Sports Authority (NSA), Bawa Abdul Majeed, during the inauguration, mentioned that the NSA has plans in place to convert the facility into a sports development hub after the African Games.
“The government plans to turn this place into a university for sports development, and that is what is on board for the Borteyman Sports Complex,” he said.
Though this long-term plan of the government has yet to see any underlying policy decisions, a private sector initiative in partnership with a state agency has set a precedent for how relevant the facility can be put to good use and the need to replicate similar facilities across the country to unearth talents for the nation.
The Aquatic Centre
The 1,000-seater capacity Borteyman Aquatic Centre, with a 10-lane competition and warm-up swimming pool, over the weekend came back to life, serving as the host facility for Channel One TV’s National Swimming Championship.
In the two-day competition, over 150 swimmers representing eight swimming clubs in Ghana competed across Under 10, 13, 14 and overage categories.
President of the Ghana Swimming Association (GSA), Delphina Quaye, in her remarks at the event, commended the organising partners for the initiative and was optimistic that there is hope for Ghana in the area of swimming after seeing young individuals excel at the competition.
After expressing her satisfaction with the performance of the swimmers, some as young as eight years old, the GSA President was confident about Ghana’s prospects.
“There is hope for the association. Seeing these young swimmers swim at this age means we have a long way to go, so there is hope for the association. It means from now till they are maybe 18, 20 years, teaching will still be in session and we will still be raising better and better swimmers than we are seeing now,” she said.
She highlighted that the goal of the association is to be the powerhouse of swimmers in Africa Zone Two, which is made up of West and Central Africa. She believes that if it exercises dominance of zone two, it can then move on to be African champions and be recognised on the world stage.
This is achievable with the right infrastructure and resources. The Borteyman Sports Complex and the Trust Sports Emporium (TSE), which hosts the Bukom International Pool, are the two international standard public swimming pools in the country.
The ability of the government to invest in more multipurpose sports facilities in all the regions across the country would be crucial to unearthing talents in the various sporting fields.
After the two-day intense competition, Legon Sharks produced a chart-topping series of performances to win 179 medals – all to emerge as winners.
The Legon Sharks knocked 2023 winners Marlins Swim Club off the top spot to third place, with the hitherto defending champions winning 137 medals after fielding a relatively smaller group of swimmers compared to last year’s edition.
GH Dolphins finished the competition in second place after winning 170 medals combined from representatives in the male and female categories.
The Best Male Team went to the Legon Sharks, with Marlins and Aquatic Masters coming in second and third place respectively; while GH Dolphins topped the female category with Marlins and Aquatic Masters filling out the second and third spots respectively.
African Sharks Swim Club coach, Isaac Gyamfi, recounted how impressed he was with the performance of swimmers competing in the second edition of the Channel One National Swimming Championship compared to the first.
“The performances of the swimmers have been good and we need more of such competitions to develop local talents and get them ready for national competitions,” he said.
The Bukom Boxing Arena has also contributed significantly to talent development in the area of boxing.
Samuel Takyi, the 20-year-old Boxer from Bukom, won Ghana’s first Olympic medal in 29 years at Tokyo 2020. This was made possible by the availability of a world-class standard boxing arena that has facilitated training and talent development in Bukom and its environments.
The outcome of this private sector-led initiative by Channel One TV is an indication that the private sector can be the driving force for talent development in sports and other areas; however, the basic infrastructure is a responsibility of the government. The impact being realised by Borteyman and Bukom should serve as a point of reference for the government to invest more in sporting facilities.
