LOC Confers With KMA

The Local Organising Committee (LOC) of Ghana 2008 has conferred with the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) with the aim of finding common grounds to impact on the successful staging of the ACN Football competition.

At a meeting between the LOC and the Metropolitan Assembly last week, the two bodies agreed in principle “to throw everything into the preparation towards the January 20-February 10, 2008 competition” envisaged to be best ever in the history of the championship.

Mr Magnus Rex Danquah, Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the LOC, outlined the legacy the tournament would offer Ghanaians and challenged the assembly to channel their commitment towards delivering an unblemished championship. This was contianed in a statement released by the LOC.

The statement said he emphasised the need to make issues like sanitation, beautification of the venue centre, and orderliness, among others, the priority of the assembly in the months leading to the biennial fiesta, adding that with a million visitors expected to patronise the competition, a focus on complete sports tourism must be a passion with a mechanism put in place to champion it.

“You don't expect to have one million visitors here only for football. There must be other entertainment and a tourism twist that should interest them and make their stay.”

It said he underscored the importance of public health measures and the availability of access roads and called for the provision of items like city maps and directional signs among others, to be made readily available to the visitors.

The COO mentioned Thursday, September 20 as the date for the special jamboree, which will afford all four venues the opportunity to showcase their preparedness to the 16 teams.

Mr Patricia Appiagyei, Metropolitan Chief Executive of the KMA, embraced the challenge and pledged the assembly's commitment towards exceeding expectation for the tournament. She said the KMA would collaborate with the LOC in their quest to deliver a successful competition.