The Ghana Baseball and Softball Federation (GBSF) on Wednesday (February 22, 2023) inaugurated a Local Organising Committee (LOC) to oversee the organisation of the Under-18 African Baseball5 Youth Championship in Ghana.
This followed a successful bid by the GBSF to host the maiden edition of the mixed-sex Championship slated for between May 14-23 at the University of Cape Coast.
The tournament will also serve as a qualifier for the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) U-18 Baseball5 World Cup which will take place later in the year.
LOC membership
The eight-member LOC is chaired by the Chairman of the Central Regional Chapter of the GBSF, Usman Kweku Etuaful. Other members of the Committee include; security services representative, Mr Emmanuel Frimpong; Mr. Alexander Tieku, NSA Director of the Central region; Mrs. Farida A. Iddriss, the Administrative Manager of the Ghana Olympic Committee (GOC), Mr. Felix Berbiye; Mr. Berthold PaaJoe Gadagbui; Mr. Edmund Ackom and Mr.Jeffrey Kumi Manzan Owusu.
In an address before swearing-in members of the LOC, the Director-General of the National Sports Authority (NSA), Professor Peter Twumasi said his outfit would support the Championship by making its staff as well as the national sports infrastructure available to ensure its success.
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He was hopeful that the country would learn many lessons from hosting the Championship which he said would be used as a dress rehearsal for hosting the African Games next year.
“The GBSF has our support in terms of technical assistance and also all our facilities are also available for your use,” Prof Twumasi said.
“The LOC is also very dear to our heart because we need to learn and put our house and structures in order to host the African Games. So, we urge all our federations to bid for such competitions but get the Ministry of Youth and Sports involved and we will support you”.
He also commended Mr Albert Frimpong on his election as the President of the WBSC Africa.
Speaking on behalf of the LOC, Mr Etuaful said Cape Coast was selected because of its unique position as a tourism destination in Ghana.
He assured that the LOC would collaborate with all stakeholders to ensure the success of the Championship.
In an interview, the President of the GBSF, Mr Ernest Danso disclosed that 12 countries had so far confirmed their participation in the Championship.
He was hopeful that the success of the championship would help in popularizing the sport across the country.
In a plea for corporate sponsorship, Mr Danso added that his outfit was looking to raise GH₵2.4 million cedis to successfully host the championship.
