Thursday, 19th March, 2026
Hon Kofi Iddie Adams
Buem
Mr Speaker, thank you very much for this opportunity. As has been canvassed, Ghana has qualified for the 2026 World Cup. Funding will be a key component of our participation, and it is in that spirit that I make this Statement.
Mr Speaker, I rise today not merely as a Minister for Sports and Recreation, but as a servant of a sector that has for decades operated with talent, passion and hope, yet without financial certainty. Mr Speaker, on the 18th of December, 2025, exactly two months ago, this House did something historic. Parliament gave Ghana its first permanent statutory financing mechanism dedicated exclusively to sports and recreational development. Under the Leadership of His Excellency John Dramani Mahama, a promise was made that sport would no longer be treated as an afterthought in national development. That promise has been kept, Cabinet approval was secured, and Parliament passed the Bill. Presidential assent was granted, and the Fund now stands as law, the Ghana Sports Fund, 2025 (Act 1159).
Mr Speaker, for years, we have all heard the same concerns: federations operate from crisis to crisis, athletes prepare for major competitions without assurance of funding, infrastructure is deteriorating faster than it is maintained and grassroots talent is lost because opportunity cannot be sustained. The Ghana Sports Fund was designed to end that cycle. But legislation alone does not finance sport; commitment does.
Mr Speaker, sport contributes approximately 2 per cent to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in advanced economies. Globally, the sports industry exceeds US$500 billion in value. Yet on our continent, sport contributes less than 0.5 per cent to GDP in most countries. Not because we lack talent and passion, but because we have not yet built a financing system that matches our ambition. The Ghana Sports Fund provides us with that system. It creates a structured, transparent and accountable framework to support infrastructure development, school and grassroots sports, elite athlete preparation, welfare systems, and recreation. It allows us to move from ad hoc allocations to creditable investment. It signals to the private sector that sport and recreation is not a favour; it is an industry.
Mr Speaker, I am happy to inform this august House that the first contribution to this Fund has already been made. The National Investment Bank (NIB) has demonstrated leadership with a donation of GH₵100,000. That gesture must not stand alone. It must mark the beginning of a national movement. In that spirit, I will donate two months of my salary to the Ghana Sports Fund, effective February 2026. If we expect the private sector to invest, if we expect federations to reform, if we expect young athletes to commit, then leadership must also commit. I respectfully call on Hon Members of this House, Ministers of State and the Executive to support this Fund in tangible ways.
The Government has delivered the framework. We must now collectively strengthen it. I am confident that His Excellency the President, who made this reform possible, will continue to champion this Fund as its foremost advocate. To corporate Ghana, state-owned enterprises, financial institutions and development partners, this Fund offers a structured and credible platform for investment in youth, health, and national development. Do not wait for the Fund administrators to come knocking. Please knock on the Fund’s door. To the media and sports journalists across the country, I make a direct appeal. The same energy used to question sports financing must now be used to build it. Help us explain the Fund, help us hold it accountable and help us mobilise support. Campaigns succeed when information is accurate, consistent, and responsible.
Mr Speaker, the Fund is not a one-discipline Fund. It is not a partisan fund; it is not a ministerial project; it is a national instrument. It is for the young girl in Tamale who trains without proper spikes. It is for the boxer in Bukom who needs medical screening and insurance protection. It is for the school athlete in Hohoe who has never travelled beyond her district but carries national potential. It is for our national teams who carry the flag of Ghana across the world.
Mr Speaker, this House has already made history by establishing the Fund. Let us now make history again by supporting it. Sports is not a sector on the margins. It is present in every constituency. As we often observe, no administration, no Member of Parliament, no community leader has ever built connection with the people without sports playing a role. It unites where politics divides. It engages where rhetoric fails. It inspires where policy alone cannot.
We have established the structure. Now we must build a culture of contribution around it. If we get this right, the Ghana Sports Fund will not merely finance competitions, it will finance opportunity. It will finance jobs. It will finance national pride. It will finance long-term economic contribution and well-being. Let this House be remembered not only as the Parliament that created the Ghana Sports Fund but as the generation of leaders that funded it, defended it, and made it work.
I thank you, Mr Speaker, for the opportunity.
Hon Dickson Kyere-Duah
Berekum West
Thank you very much, Mr Speaker, for indulging me to join the call to rally this honourable House and the entire nation for our collective and sustained support for the Ghana Sports Fund. The Minister for Sports and Recreation has passionately elucidated the benefits of the Fund. This Fund will serve as a very important vehicle for the transformation of sports in this country.
Mr Speaker, sports are a universal language spoken by people of all ages and it transcends boundaries: political, cultural, social and economic boundaries. In Ghana, sports are not merely a recreational activity. It is a very powerful tool for youth empowerment, for job creation, for international diplomacy, for building unity and peace among the people.
Mr Speaker, permit me to digress a little bit and look at the role of sports in achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). If you look at Goal 3, for instance, it focusses on good health and well-being. Regular sports activities can reduce the risk of non-communicable diseases by up to 35 per cent, according to the United Nations. We also know that SDG 5 talks about gender equality. Sports empowers women and girls; it promotes inclusion and challenges all forms of discrimination and stereotypes.
Mr Speaker, despite the enormous benefits of sports, in Ghana, chronic funding challenges, lack of infrastructure and limited support for athletes have undermined the growth of sports in this country. It is therefore important for us as a House to show leadership in supporting this very important Fund. This Fund is not intended to replace Government’s responsibility; it is intended to complement our strategic partnership with the private sector to raise enough resources—
Thank you very much. So, Mr Speaker, this Act is a creation of Parliament. It is therefore important that we as parliamentarians support, advocate for seed funding for this Fund and also play effective oversight to ensure transparency, accountability and management of this Fund. As has been shown by the Hon Minister, as a passionate football and sports administrator, I also donate one month of my net salary, to support this Fund.
Thank you, Mr Speaker, for indulging me.
Hon Vincent Ekow Assafuah
Old Tafo
It is a challenge that I will pass.
Thank you very much, Mr Speaker, for the opportunity to contribute to the Statement ably read by the Minister for Sports and Recreation. Let me indicate that this Sports Fund is one of the greatest milestones that has ever happened to the life of the sports fraternity. I say so because as the Ranking Member for the Committee on Youth and Sports, at the time that we were having deliberations as to whether or not to pass this Bill, one key issue that came to fore was about sustainability of funds for our sports fraternity.
Mr Speaker, until last year December, the sports fraternity has been limping. It has been struggling with funds. It would interest you to note that even this year, major competitions that we have—it is not only the World Cup. We have two other major competitions, but the Ministry of Sports and Recreation is struggling to even rake in funds to be able to support the World Cup. What that means is that we do not want this law to risk being just a passed legislation without proper execution, without being able to rake in funds to support the Sports Fund. So, I will use this opportunity to call on all well-meaning Ghanaians to support the Fund.
Mr Speaker, secondly, just about some two or three weeks ago, the Committee also visited all the infrastructure that we have as far as the sports fraternity is concerned. We went to the Accra Sports Stadium and Borteyman. It was an eyesore. Maintenance culture at our various sports infrastructure is so bad to the extent that as Parliamentarians, as Committee Members, as people who are part of policymaking and, if you like, supporting policymakers, we have every responsibility to be able to support the Hon Minister and the Ministry of Sports and Recreation to be able to rake in funds in terms of having a strategic fund to be able to maintain all our sports infrastructure across the country. Accra Sports Stadium is not being maintained.
In Borteyman, with the hundreds of millions that was used to construct this infrastructure, it is not being properly maintained. So, it is important for us to be able to support the Ministry of Sports and Recreation to rake in a lot of funds to be able to support the Fund.
Mr Speaker, as I initially said, I will pass the challenge. I know that the Hon Minister has already contributed two months of his salary. As to whether it is his salary from the Ministry or his salary as a Member of Parliament (MP), we are not aware. But as we speak, I am calling on all well meaning Ghanaians to support the Fund to make sure that we can go to the World Cup.
Thank you very much.
Hon Fred Kwesi Agbenyo
Guan
Thank you very much, Mr Speaker, for the opportunity to make a comment on the Statement ably presented by the Minister for Sports and Recreation.
Let me also add my voice to my brother, Hon Assafuah, when he says that one of the biggest things that has happened to this country, as far as sports is concerned, is the establishment of this Sports Fund. Mr Speaker, I have always argued that the sports industry has the potential of creating job opportunities for all the young people that we have in this country. Because that industry is such that it can engage the services of almost every professional. People in the health sector, academia, drivers, cleaners— everybody can get some work to do within the sports fraternity or industry when well taken care of. Unfortunately, over the years, we have not injected the needed funds into that particular industry. Ghana is said to be the Brazil of Africa. The talent is here.
But Mr Speaker, until you add value to the talent and until you develop the infrastructure, it will be difficult to match up with your colleagues in other countries. So, every now and then, we go for sports festivals, we see Ghana performing very well, but we are not able to get to the very top because we do not do the basic things we are supposed to do before we get to that level.
Mr Speaker, even the sports academies that the francophone countries are developing today—with the exception of the few private ones we have in Ghana, we do not have a lot sports academies that will groom young people from the foundation level. So, I am very happy that this Fund has come. We can now use this Fund to improve on infrastructure, build more sports academies across the country, where we can unearth talent at the very beginning.
Mr Speaker, I wish that in every district in this country, we could convert one secondary school or one basic school into a sports academy and have a specialised curriculum for them to follow. People can go in there to pursue a course in refereeing, sports administration among others and climb all the way to the university level. So, this is a Fund that all of us must embrace. We must get the needed money to support it. If government can think of maybe putting a percentage on either fuel, or any of our commodities, that can regularly contribute money to this Fund, I think it will help all of us.
Mr Speaker, I would not speak for long on this issue, except to say that the Hon Minister has paved the way. I am also prepared to sacrifice my one-month salary for the month of February, 2026 to support this particular Fund.
I thank you very much for the opportunity.
Hon Joseph Kwame Kumah
Kintampo North
Thank you, Mr Speaker, for the opportunity to add my voice to this laudable Ghana Sports Fund Act, 2024 (Act 1159).
Mr Speaker, coming from the centre of the country, where Dogo Moro and Baba Yara hail from. I know the importance of sports and its infrastructural need. Mr Speaker, Kofi Owusu, Baba Yara and others left an indelible mark through sports in Ghana. My constituency, Kintampo North, is yearning for sports infrastructure. I cannot do anything better than contributing to this Statement, and to appeal that a lot of people follow to make this Fund a reality for the welfare of athletes and their development. Grassroots talents may be identified so that we poach the footballers at their young age. We can get athletes at their young age which will catapult into economic growth and youth empowerment.
Mr Speaker, I am, by this, pledging GH₵30,000 to be paid over three months, GH₵10,000 per month. Yes, this is because the Kintampo North Constituency is so broad and the commitments are enormous. I would also appeal that I am making this passionate donation so that, in the future, any sports infrastructure can be thought of for Kintampo North. We need to leave a legacy for Baba Yara, Dogo Moro, Kofi Owusu, and others.
Thank you for the opportunity, Mr Speaker.
Hon Samuel Awuku
Akuapim North
Thank you very much, Rt Hon Speaker.
Mr Speaker, let me commend the maker of the Statement, the Minister for Sports and Recreation. The Minority may not have enough to contribute, so the Majority should not be too expectant. But we have the ideas to help shape what we want to do. Mr Speaker, while I commend the Minister for Sports and Recreation for the two-month donation of his salary, I am fortified in my belief that by the end of proceedings, he might move to six months of his salary, as he is showing leadership by example.
Mr Speaker, while we commend the Majority Side for their generous contributions and donations, it is clear that it is symptomatic of the general conditions in the country. So while they donate generously, they should let us also see how we can make it work in this broader perspective. So, Mr Speaker, I would like to reiterate the point I made earlier about the Ghana Sports Fund.
I would like to once again draw the attention of the Minister for Sports and Recreation to the fact that, beyond the donations from Members of Parliament and interest groups, one key sector that can help drive this Sports Fund is the private sector and corporate Ghana. I believe that the Minister for Sports and Recreation, working hand in hand with the Ministry of Finance, can have a framework where they can come back to Parliament with an arrangement where they can encourage the private sector and define it as much more beneficial to also support this Sports Fund. There is no doubt that this Fund holds the potential to help our sports sector and also help fill the infrastructure gap that we have by contributing towards its building and maintenance.
Again, I believe that when all sectors of our economy, from farmers to bankers to insurance institutions, are involved, including our cocoa farmers, when they also have what they are supposed to get, everyone can generously contribute towards this. But the last point that I would like to make and also emphasise is that it cannot be driven by just individual donations. That will not be sustainable because expectations from the sports fraternity, Mr Speaker, are quite huge and the task ahead for the Hon Minister, for me, will be to work hand in hand with all the stakeholders that I have discussed with him in confidence.
I believe that by sharing that with the broader face of our country, people will find it much more engaging, get the media involved, get Corporate Ghana involved, and get the various stakeholders who can help drive it. But on this note, I want to commend him for this Statement, and I believe that all of us are here to support him in this direction. Mr Speaker, silver and gold I have none, but I have ideas to contribute.
Thank you very much.
Hon Ayariga Mahama
Bawku Central
Mr Speaker, this is one instance where we will not accept a decision by the Minority Leadership not to say anything.
Mr Speaker, this is a Statement that is also a fundraising event. So we need to take more statements and more pledges. All I can say is that my Friends on the other Side are running away from contributing. The essence of the Statement is to appeal to all of us to endeavour to contribute to the Sports Fund – some support to breathe life into the Fund.
Mr Speaker, as we approach the World Cup tournament, we know there will be a lot of pressure in terms of resources to support the Black Stars and to support the various supporter unions who would want to go and support and cheer our team. I believe we all recall that there was a commission of enquiry that presented a report, a White Paper, the Dzamefe Committee. The report, adopted by the Government, stated that state funds should not be committed to supporting certain activities in our tournament. The only lawful thing that state funds can be committed to is specifically financing the team to go and participate. But we all know that a team alone cannot just go and participate and come back. The team does well based on a certain atmosphere. And so, there is a need to create an enabling atmosphere in the country where the team is participating in the tournament so that they can deliver.
I recall, Mr Speaker, that when I was Minister for Sports, we went to Equatorial Guinea for the African Cup of Nations. I had to commit a few days before the tournament to travel to some of the major cities in Equatorial Guinea to meet the Ghanaian community and convince them to leave their jobs and travel from their cities to Malabo and Mongomo, where we were playing.
We also played in, I think, three cities, and wherever they went, we had to provide buses at the barest minimum. We had to buy tickets for them. A man who is working, and then we ask him to leave his work to support Ghanaians because we are not able to ferry Ghanaians all the way from Ghana to support them. So, we want to count on the small contingent of Ghanaians who are in that country to at least show up at the stadium to support. It will cost money, whichever way; no matter what sacrifices they choose to make, we would still have to spend some money.
It might even be necessary to support our supporters’ unions to go there. But the Report of the Commission states that the funds of the State should not be used for such activities. That is a very commendable position because of the abuses we saw in the past. So, we have to resort to raising funds through other channels to support the Black Stars and create an atmosphere in the various stadiums where they will be playing, in order to spur them on.
So, Mr Speaker, I think the Statement is very welcome, and I want to commend the Minister for Sports and Recreation for showing leadership. I wish it were across all Sides. I can see my Brother, the former Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, during whose tenure, a lot of gold was mined in this country, by small-scale miners and large-scale miners alike. I am expecting somebody of his standing to urge Colleagues to contribute generously towards the Fund.
So, Mr Speaker, on that note, I would want to announce that the Frontbench of the Majority Side hereby commit their March salary to the Fund. Mr Speaker, I am also authorised by the current Minister for Roads and Highways, who used to be on the Frontbench; he has also committed to spend one month of his salary on the Fund. Yes. It is the Minister for Roads and Highways who is committing one month, as well as all of us at the Frontbench. I think Mr Speaker will have the last word on this.
Mr Speaker, I also have the authority of the Minister for Finance, Hon Dr Cassiel Ato Baah Forson, to commit one month of his salary to the Fund. But I can say on authority that my Chief Whip has decided to embarrass all of us. My Chief Whip says I should announce that he is committing three months of his salary. [Hear! Hear!] Mr Speaker, after that, I will invite the Office of the Special Prosecutor to come and find out how he was going to survive for the three months. From what sources of income would he survive for the three months?
Mr Speaker, let me commend the Minister for making the Statement, and thank all Colleagues who have commented on the Statement. Also, to thank those who have generously donated, to inspire the rest of the country to follow suit and to also make some donations. I think that the Minority Members can pledge. We know our salaries are the same; we receive the same salary. There is no Majority or Minority salary. So, we expect them to make some contribution to support the Black Stars. Hon Dr Kabiru Mahama is about to announce a contribution.
Mr Speaker, I think in addition to we making contributions, let us also urge our constituents, even if it is small amounts of money, through Mobile Money (MoMo). It could be GH₵10 or GH₵20; let us develop a culture of supporting the sporting sector. We like to watch television and enjoy football, but we must pay for it. It must be financed, so everybody must drop something in.
After a while, the industry will begin to finance itself, when the industry picks up. Because it is a huge money-making venture and we need to push it to the point where it will be attractive to investors to enable it yield dividends. If we do not give it that push, we will continue to deprive ourselves of benefiting from the industry. On that note, Mr Speaker, I thank the Minister for the Statement.
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