The Minister for Education, Haruna Iddrisu, has announced the return of the Sports and Colleges Festival in schools.
This he said this will mark the end of a five-year drought in one of the country’s most promising youth development initiatives.
“I’m into football and believe me, I’m sending six players to Madrid, who I’m picking from some of the schools. So it’s a huge potential for young people,” he said.
Mr. Iddrisu emphasized the importance of sports as a powerful tool not only for discipline and team building but also for identifying and grooming young talents who could potentially represent Ghana on the international stage.
He recounted a moment of reflection in Tamale, where the enthusiasm of some school children reminded him of the power of extracurricular activities like football in complementing academic work.
The Education Minister assured the public that the Ministry of Education, in collaboration with the Ministry for Youth and Sports and under the leadership of the Ghana Education Service, will fully reintroduce the Sports and Colleges Festival this year.
“We will look for resources so that before the end of this year at least we end the five-year drought of this initiative. We need to identify and groom young talents and develop them for our national team,” he stated.
He said the goal is to develop young talents for the national team, starting from the under-15 and under-17 levels. With the right training and exposure, these young players will eventually mature into future Black Stars.
