''Be Minister of Sports not football''- Lutterodt cautions Asiamah

By Edna A. Quansah, GNA
Accra, Jan. 19, GNA- The Former Chairman of the Ghana Athletics Association (GAA), Mr. George Lutterodt, has cautioned the new Minister designate for Youth and Sports, Mr. Isaac Asiamah to concentrate on all sporting disciplines and not to focus on only football.

President Nana Akufo-Addo last week confirmed the appointment of Asiamah, the Member of Parliament for the Atwima Mponua constituency in the Ashanti Region, as the new Youth and Sports minister designate to replace Mr. Edwin Nii Lantei Vanderpujye.

The Ministry of Youth and Sports for the past 17 years, has seen 19 minsters with Hon. Asiamah being the 20th. This indicates that each minister spends a maximum of eight months in office with many of them struggling to succeed.

In view of this, Mr. Lutterodt in an interview with the GNA Sports admonished the MP to pay equal attention to the other least financed sports to succeed in his new role.

Lutterodt applauded Asiamah for assuring the country he will be Minister for all disciplines when appointed. 'We know government can't do it all. That is the reality. We wish him the best and we will support him. The Sports Ministers concentrate on football and at the end it is football that destroys them.

'So when they say they will be minster for all, they must fulfill those promises and stop being minister of football but minister of sports. I believe he will treat every discipline equally because it's far too long Ghana has been a mono sports country concentrating on one particular team, the black stars'.

On his part, he called on the Minister to also concentrate on getting investors to boost the sporting federations.

He mentioned that 'I hope the minister will concentrate in getting investors for these federations. We have volley ball, basketball, and net ball and others, let's concentrate, and invest in these games.

'The private sector has been the engine of growth for this sector. We need investors from the private sectors to boost the federation. All the federations should have a strategic partner in the private sector so the federations can all be properly resourced'.

Mr. Lutterodt urged stakeholders to support the newly appointed Minister designate to excel in his position. GNA