Let's Make Ghana's Ampe An International Sport - Nana Boateng Gyimah

Nana Boateng Gyimah, Kontihene of Senchi Asokore, has said, they are on the verge of making Ampe, a renowned traditional game, an international sporting discipline.

He said this in an interview with the GNA Sports, ahead of an upcoming international Ampe competition between Ghana and Nigeria.

The competition is fixed for Saturday, August 25 at the Accra Cultural Centre, with rates standing at GH¢5.00, 10.00 and 20.00 for children, adult and VIP respectively.

Nana Boateng Gyimah, who also doubles as the head of Be-Great Promotions, the company championing the Ampe cause said, his outfit was interested in promoting local Ghanaian games, which used to be played for leisure purposes, to becoming a much more gratifying sporting event.

He said the organisation on its own had trained neighbouring countries like Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Liberia and Burkina Faso in Ghanaian games like 'Pilolo, Chaskele and Ampe.'

He said their focus as a group was on Ampe, which they have rebranded to meet international competition standards.

'Ampe has been rebranded and made a more interesting competition. It is now more of a sporting event than leisure. We want to put our traditional games on the international level starting with Ampe,' he said.

According to him, the new Ampe competition differs a bit from the normal Ampe, because of the new rules and regulations introduced to make it more competitive and exciting.

Three judges award marks for per match with each judge having a maximum score point of 10, a referee and a records keeper are responsible for officiating in every game.

'The points system is just like boxing where the judges score points for the participants. The ground for the competition is just like a boxing ring,' Nana Boateng noted.

The new Ampe competition is competed in an Ampe Arena with five rounds of each game's length.

The first round two minutes duration and a 20 seconds rest with the rest of the rounds having one-minute duration.

Teams are to present five players with two substitutes each for each game.

He called on individuals, and corporate organisations to come on board as they prepare to be the first body from Ghana to introduce an international game that will be competed at the Olympics.

The competition is however played in Ghana at the regional levels where players are selected to represent the country for the upcoming championship.