The University of Ghana has launched its maiden Corporate Tennis Championship, an initiative aimed at deepening collaboration between the university and the corporate sector while promoting wellness and networking through sport.
The launch, held on Wednesday, October 22, 2025, at the University of Ghana Sports and Wellness Directorate, brought together representatives from partner organizations including GOIL PLC, Penfield School, Vena Water, and the Ghana Tennis Federation (GTF).
The event began with a welcome address by Augustine Amissare, Senior Assistant Registrar at the Sports and Wellness Directorate, who highlighted the university’s commitment to engaging beyond the student and staff body.
“Our mandate as a directorate is to organise sports for students, staff and alumni,” he explained. “After years of successful student and staff games, we thought it was time to involve corporate organisations. This is a great platform to engage with the corporate world, understand their needs and also get them to support our sports infrastructure.”
He added that the Corporate Tennis Championship forms part of the University’s broader strategic agenda to build partnerships and foster shared responsibility in sports development.
“We cannot do everything on our own.We believe that once companies see our facilities and the spirit behind this competition, they will be encouraged to support the University in maintaining and upgrading our sports infrastructure.”
Yaw Sakyii Afari, CEO of Rite Sports Services and coordinator of the event, expressed his excitement about the upcoming competition scheduled for Saturday, October 25, 2025, at the University’s tennis courts.
“We’re very excited about the launch and the competition coming up this Saturday,” he said. “This is a follow-up to the very successful football league we held earlier in the year, and it’s a way to kickstart the tennis league properly for next year.”
Mr. Afari revealed that four corporate teams will participate in the one-day social tournament, emphasising the event’s exclusive focus on genuine corporate participants.
“We’re inviting all tennis fans to come and see talent within corporate institutions,” he stated. “It’s strictly social no professionals. If you’re a coach or a pro, you can come and watch, but you can’t play. We’ll fish you out,” he added humorously.
He also acknowledged the event partners, saying:
“Our partners; Goil, Vena Water, and Penfield School are fully behind us. Everyone’s excited and ready, and we can’t wait for Saturday.”
Isaac Duah, President of the Ghana Tennis Federation, lauded the University of Ghana and its partners for their contribution to the growth of tennis in the country.
“It’s an exciting moment for Ghana Tennis,” he said. “Corporate Ghana coming on board means healthier staff and new support for our professionals. Sponsorship is hard to come by, so we’re grateful to Vena, Goil, Civil Aviation, VRA, and Stanbic Bank for their involvement.”
He added that the Federation sees the competition as an opportunity to create networking platforms for corporate institutions while helping to nurture young tennis players.
“We’re hopeful this event will help tennis grow bigger and better to become the number two sport again in Ghana”.
The climax of the launch event featured the official balloting session, conducted by Jeff Bagerbaseh, Coordinator of the UG Corporate Tennis Championship. Representatives from the participating companies drew lots to determine their fixtures for Saturday’s competition.
The draw produced the following pairings:
- GOIL PLC (No. 1) will face Stanbic Bank (No. 2)
- Volta River Authority (VRA) (No. 4) will take on the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA)
The fixtures set the stage for an exciting day of competition at the University of Ghana Tennis Courts, as the four institutions battle for bragging rights in the maiden edition of the championship.
The UG Corporate Tennis Championship is designed as a social sporting event to bring together corporate institutions in a friendly but competitive environment. The one-day event highlights the University’s growing role in promoting wellness, community engagement, and corporate partnership through sport.
