The Innebandy team, a group of foreigners who have formed a hockey team in Ghana, paid money to the National Sports Authority (NSA) in order to convert Ghana’s Premier Tennis court at the Accra Sports stadium into a hockey pitch, Filipina Frempong, General Secretary of the Tennis Governing Body has said.
On Tuesday, 16 August, Class Sports reported that the tennis court at the stadium was being used as a hockey pitch by some foreigners in the country.
The report raised concerns among citizens who expressed fears that the facility may not last as it is serving another function other than what it was designed for.
The President of the Ghana Tennis Federation, Isaac Aboagye Duah, in an interview with Class Sports, expressed worry about the situation but said there was nothing the federation could do about it, as the National Sports Authority was in charge of the facility.
“The tennis court belongs to the National Sports Authority; they gave them permission to use the place for hockey even though it was built for tennis. We have complained to them but we realised they are also looking at the financial gains to support themselves because they are not getting funds from the government. If we (Ghana Tennis Federation) had the power, we wouldn’t have allowed that. But the court belongs to NSA, so they decide what to do with it,” he stated.
Ms Frempong told Class Sports that: “Yes, the Innebandy group has been playing in the stadium from before I took over as General Secretary. They were paying to the National Sports Authority, but when I took over, there was a little struggle to get them to pay and I was able to come to some sort of agreement with them.”
She added: “We use the money in diverse ways, for instance, when monies from the NSA became scarce, we used it then to finance our national ranking tournament at the time. The NSA has been trying to take over for a while now but I have been resisting. They have been playing on the courts for more than six years, since I took over and have not destroyed the courts. I know they don’t always play on the centre courts which McDan painted.”
Meanwhile, President of the Ghana Tennis Federation, Mr Aboagye Duah, has denied claims that his office is receiving cash in return for converting the tennis court into a hockey pitch.
Source: Ghana/AccraFM.com
