COMMENTARY BY MR. MAGNUS REX DANQUAH, EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN, RICS CONSULT LIMITED AT THE NATIONAL IDENTITY SUMMIT BREAKOUT SESSION:AT THE COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS & SURGEONS AT 8.00AM
0.0 INTRODUCTION
Mr. Moderator, I see my invitation and presence at this Breakout Session: “CITIZENSHIP DEVELOPMENT THROUGH SPORTS” of the National Identity Summit organised by the Brand Ghana Office as more than opportune, not so much for my participation, but also for the fact that it is providing the unique platform for me to articulate the critical role SPORTS ought to play in the general theme of this Summit: “Ghana In Search Of A Competitive Identity”.
1.0 WHAT NATIONS, GOVERNMENTS & THEIR PEOPLES SEEK TO DO WITH SPORTS
First, permit me to admit that I will only be making these comments from the point of a concerned bystander, who over the last thirty years, have witnessed with keen interest the global evolution of sports as a platform for talent and skill development, leisure, physical education and recreation into a vehicle for socio-economic changes amongst nations.
What nations and governments have sought to do, in the circumstances, have been to use sport as a tool for re-engineering their economies and increase their sports infrastructure stock by continuously engaging in the bidding war for the rights to host and organise various international sporting events.
In short, nations, governments and their peoples have used these national and international sports events as platforms to ‘brand and or re-brand’ themselves through re-positioning their nations globally in the comity of nations; their culture, music and dance (through elaborate, expensive Opening & Closing Ceremonies); promote domestic & international tourism and particularly sports tourism; showcase their economies and above all else, drive their national development agendas.
Thus, I will opt for a different approach than looking at it wholly from the group title: ‘CITIZENSHIP DEVELOPMENT THROUGH SPORTS’.
2.0 MY UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT BRAND GHANA CONSTITUTES?
Brand Ghana, to me, is the sum total of all the attributes that are symbolised in the title ‘Ghanaian’, acquired over the ages from the Songhai Empire with migration to our present location.
History has it that it was Mari Djata, the King of Mali who defeated the Kingdom of Ghana in Western Sudan in the year 1076. As a result, many of the conquered people fled southwards and eventually, it is believed, reached as far as Ashanti and the coastal plains of the Gold Coast. Of this the prevailing theory links the Akan people of the present Ghana, by direct descent, with the people of the great Kingdom of Ghana, which flourished in the old Ghana more than a thousand years ago.
Thus, the brand should by all imagination encompass all our achievements as a people and individual exploits in whatever field of endeavour; our collective and individual failures; our culture; our music; our way of life; our languages; our hospitality; our politics; our leadership; our religions; people’s perceptions of who and what we are; as well as our hurts and emotions.
Again, we could also look at the other academic considerations and areas, which the other breakout sessions will be discussing today.
3.0 SPORTS, INDIVIDUAL EXPLOITS & THE NATIONAL IDENTITY DIALOGUE
Now to my interest in the whole NATIONAL IDENTITY SUMMIT: Sports and the National Identity issue.
For me, the exploits of our sportsmen and women from the period of Gold Coast, pre-independence to date from Mike Ahey, Alice Anum, Floyd Robertson, Joe Tetteh, Azumah Nelson, D. K. Poison, the Black Stars Team that held Real Madrid F/C to a pulsating 3-3 draw, C. K. Gyamfi, Osei Kofi, Aggrey Fynn, Edward Acquah, Abedi Pele Ayew, ‘Abetifi Mustang’, Mohammed Polo and many others not mentioned have all helped by their exploits in the field of sports to add value to the brand GHANA.
Outside sports, we can look at such personalities as Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, whose centenary we have celebrated this year, H. E. Kofi Annan, Alex Quaison-Sackey, Dr. Robert Gardiner, Emmanuel Amoako of the ECA, Archbishop Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson, Tetteh Quarshie – for Ghana’s cocoa, Prof. Francis Allotey and many others sojourning overseas, who have all also added value to the brand GHANA by their exploits of international dimensions.
I am more than happy that the government has found it prudent to establish a Brand Ghana Office to protect, develop and grow the GHANA brand, both locally and globally, and even more especially that its importance is buttressed by its inclusion in the membership of the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC).
4.0 ROLE OF SPORTS IN REINFORCING BRAND GHANA GLOBALLY
For the purposes of my participation in the Summit today, I would rather look only at the role of Sports in reinforcing the Ghana brand globally, especially the contributions of particularly Football in adding value since 2006 to date and for the future.
4.1 From Gold Coast To Ghana & Projecting The African Personality
This is not to discount the achievements of Sports in projecting the African Personality in post-Independence Ghana, especially showcasing the prowess of Ghanaian sportsmen and women at various international sporting arenas like the earlier years of the CAF Africa Cup of Nations Football Championships, the Commonwealth Games and the Olympic Games. One would recall with nostalgia the exploits of Eddie Blay, Sulley Shittu, Roy Ankrah, Joe Tetteh, Floyd Robertson, Ike Quartey, Alice Anum, Christiana Boateng, Beatrice Kankam, Grace Laing, C. K. Gyamfi, Chris Braindt and others whose exploits across the African continent gave the Black Man the pride of place in the comity of nations.
During those times, the senior national football team, the Black Stars was the toast of Africa, gracing various occasions like Independence celebrations of other African countries, whilst other sportsmen and women became the pride of Africans as well as others of black descent at international sporting fora.
They, in their times, laid the foundation of encasing the name: GHANA in letters of gold, especially in the transition from Gold Coast to the newly independent state, the first in sub-Saharan Africa – the Black Star for the present generation to add value.
4.2 Between 2006 Germany & 2010 South Africa World Cups
However, from 2006, we have seen more value added to the brand Ghana through the magnitude of the impact of the triumph of the Black Satellites at the FIFA Under-20 World Cup, Egypt 2009 Championship, especially considering the manner in which the finals was played and won against Brazil with 10-men for more than 80 minutes of the game – showcasing the SPIRIT of the Ghanaian as exhibited during the struggle for independence at play and against all odds.
The value of this achievement and the premium it added in enhancing this brand can only be left for posterity to determine.
Again, the legacy of the Black Stars’ performance at the last FIFA World Cup, Germany 2006 and the fulfillment of Roger Milla’s prophesy that the world had seen nothing of the beauty and flair of the African Football Play with his country, Cameroon’s performance till the day of the arrival of the Black Stars, Ghana’s National Team - is also a critical part of the enhancement of the same branding.
Even more importantly is the real time value of the Black Stars’ achievements at the just ended South Africa 2010 FIFA World Cup, where they were not only the toast, again after 4-5 decades, of the African Continent and her people as well as people of African-descent worldwide. There has never been a much better time for anybody to feel so proud to be a Ghanaian, anywhere on this planet as during this tournament. Indeed, the story is told of a family in Uganda who left their dead son, brother and father to a pastor to bury alone so they could leave the burial grounds early enough to watch a Ghana match at the South Africa 2010 World Cup – callous people, possibly but that showed the strength of the brand Ghana at the peak of its attraction through sports.
4.3 Opportunity Values & Accrued Benefits Of Global Media Exposure
Ghana’s achievements at the South Africa 2010 World Cup also earned for the nation continuous mentions, supported by visuals across all the global media networks, including CNN, BBC, ESPN, Sky, Deutsche Welle and Carnal France International. Mentions that would have cost the nation in excess of US$15 million conservatively to have run an extensive global media campaign of that magnitude of exposure, most of them during prime time.
The extent of the short, medium and long-term accrued benefits that would inure to our advantage as a nation to boost our sports tourism in-flows cannot be fathomed now.
Already, requests have started coming in from USA pupils and students who are desirous of visiting Ghana during their holidays to learn how to play Ghanaian Football; there are also requests for TV and book rights for selected players of the 2010 Black Stars Team; and individual player-endorsement deals.
There is also opportunity for us to develop and grow a new line of product: HOCKEY SPORTS TOURISM, using the newly-constructed water-based turf, the National Hockey Stadium, with its 64-bed hostel facility to attract European student hockey teams to come and use our facilities during their holidays to train and alongside explore and visit our tourism sites.
5.0 THE WAY FORWARD FOR ROLE OF SPORTS & THE BRAND GHANA PROJECT
I would, in conclusion, make the following points for the possible inclusion into the final Summit Report:-
5.1 The Brand Ghana Office should begin to engage the Ministry of Youth & Sports, the National Sports Council and the Ghana Football Association (GFA) towards collaborating on Ghana’s qualification and participation in the following upcoming sports events to showcase Brand Ghana, not only for their individual achievements but even more importantly during the Opening Ceremonies, where our culture – the Kente wear is at play to global TV networks:-
5.1.1 Africa Cup of Nations, 2012 Gabon / Equatorial Guinea, and 2013 Libya;
5.1.2 FIFA World Cup, Brazil 2014;
5.1.3 All-Africa Games, Mozambique;
5.1.4 Commonwealth Games 2010 Delhi;
5.1.5 Olympic Games 2012 London & 2016 Rio de Janeiro; and locally;
5.1.6 Biennial National Sports Festivals that seek to showcase regional talents into a national convergence point for giving hope, leadership skills, endurance, focus of purpose and need for unity and cohesion to the youth through sports.
5.2 The Brand Ghana Office should be interested to participate actively in an upcoming national conference on ‘Rebranding Ghana Football’ to be organised next year, to not only define Ghana’s football identity but also to add value to the quality of the Ghanaian Game both locally and globally, especially for our footballers, technical personnel and its impact on Ghana’s economy.
5.3 The Brand Ghana Office should be interested in collaborating with the Africa Sports Museum Project, where Ghanaian sportsmen and women who qualify to be inducted into its Hall of Fame could be showcased;
5.4 The Brand Ghana Office and the National Development Planning Commission (NPDC), and for that matter policymakers at various Ministries, Departments and Agencies should begin to re-think the role of Sports as a critical instrument to drive the national development agenda for accelerated growth, especially in the area of increased employment opportunities for the Ghanaian youth;
5.5 The Brand Ghana Office should seize the uniqueness of sports as a convenient, easily-recognizable and accessible rallying point for mobilizing all Ghanaians behind the National Identity Project through such programmes as ‘Rallying Behind The Flag’ during our participations in various international sporting events; and finally
5.6 I consider a matter of priority that the Government itself re-thinks its position on SPORTS as an integral policy tool for national unity, cohesion, youth employment, attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by the deadline 2015 and for district, regional and national development; and most importantly to make it part of every development strategic plan – short, medium and long-term for very obvious reasons.
Thank you for the invitation and for listening.
