Head of the Ghana Rugby Football Association, Herbert Mensah, has bemoaned the lukewarm posture by government, the National Sports Authority (NSA), as well as the Ghana Olympic Committee (GOC) towards so-called lesser-known sports in Ghana, especially rugby.<\/p>\n
He made this assertion in an interview on GBC 24\u2019s New Sports days ago: \u201cthe NSA, government, GOC have not been as forthcoming as we would have hoped that they would be. With the change of government, we are hoping that there might be a better approach to minority sports\u201d<\/p>\n
[contextly_sidebar id=”tdxUXt3jx1BllMRKtHOdn4l1m25Kdmps”]\u201cWe try and impress on the system that there\u2019s an obligation \u2013 a moral obligation, an ethical obligation to provide for all sports, and you cannot ask people to wear the national jersey, represent the state and be absent in your responsibility\u201d, he held.<\/p>\n
There have been numerous complaints about how as a nation, we only appear to focus mainly on football, especially the Black Stars, to the detriment of other sports. There have also been endless calls for more involvement and financial commitment by government and other state agencies towards the development of other sport in the country.<\/p>\n
\u201cRugby is the second most popular sport in the world. Why is it that it is not really felt in Ghana? Why is it that there is no funding for it in Ghana? Why is it that successive governments have given absolutely nothing to the game?\u201d, Mr. Mensah lamented about the current situation, before describing as disrespectful, government\u2019s attitude regarding providing requisite support for rugby in the country, especially as the GRFU prepares to host, and participate in forthcoming international tournaments.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere has to be first, a dialogue, because that means you respect us. Where there is no dialogue, then there is no respect, and there has been no dialogue, so we have been disrespected over there since I got involved in rugby, by senior administrators who are happy to take public office but not to serve the people.\u201d<\/p>\n
That notwithstanding, Mr. Mensah expressed his satisfaction at the progress of players, and the overall pace at which the game is developing, though he admitted that there\u2019s still much to be done.<\/p>\n
\u201cInjuries were at a minimum, the quality of play has improved massively, we showed levels of physicality that I\u2019ve not seen in the two-and-half years or so that I\u2019ve been around. We saw fitness levels which have improved rapidly although again, not quite where I want it to be. I want Ghana rugby to have levels of fitness that are global.\u201d<\/p>\n
He also disclosed steps that the union is taking to ensure that they sustain Africa\u2019s positive perception of Ghana rugby\u2019s professionalism, including administrative apparatus in the area of compliance and governance, accounting, statistics and data.<\/p>\n
On the mental requirement of the game, he emphasized the essence of spirit and resilience to success, saying \u201crugby is a character issue. Winners are made not from natural talent but from character. Who\u2019s prepared to dig in where the odds are against you? Who\u2019s prepared to fight when it seems as though you’re going to lose. Whose instinct, based upon training and discipline can take you to the next point?\u201d.<\/p>\n