Ghana sport has a new committee to turn the search for funding into long-term investment. Samson Deen will lead the five-member National Sports Authority Resource Mobilisation and Partnership Committee as it seeks stronger partnerships for Ghanaian sport.
Samson Deen, President of the African Paralympic Committee, will serve as chairman, with Yaw Ampofo Ankrah as co-chairman, Hajia Zenabu Sulemana and Alhaji Mutawakilu Iddrisu as members, and Mavis Ekua Enyamah Kwainoe as member and secretary.
Samson Deen wants to change the way Ghana approaches sports funding. For years, athletes and federations have often depended on urgent fundraising before major events, a model that can leave preparation late and resources uncertain.
“Resource mobilisation must not mean simply asking for money,” Samson Deen said. Ghana has the talent, but talent needs a system that can find it, fund it, develop it and take it to the highest level.
That pathway is at the heart of his vision. “We must move from emergency funding to strategic investment,” Samson Deen said, calling for government, businesses, development partners, federations and the media to work together.
The proposed Constituency Games could become a key part of that plan. Samson Deen believes the competition should do more than create another fixture on the sporting calendar.
“The Constituency Games must not become just another competition on the calendar. They must become a national talent-discovery movement,” he said. Athletes would be identified in communities and moved through regional and national competition towards elite development.
The media also has a role to play. Samson Deen wants athletes to receive attention before they become medal winners, especially those competing far from the national spotlight.
“We do not want the media to arrive only when the medal has been won. We want you there when the journey begins,” he said. That could build public interest and give sponsors a stronger reason to invest early.
The committee faces the harder part: turning its vision into deals, programmes and measurable results. Its success will not be judged by meetings alone, but by whether new resources reach athletes, coaches and sporting communities.
“We should be judged not by the number of meetings we hold, but by the partnerships we build; not by the documents we produce, but by the resources we unlock,” Samson Deen said.
For Ghana, the challenge is bigger than finding money. It is about building a sports system where talent does not stop at discovery, but has a clear road to development, performance and the podium.
