NPP Manifesto Watch: Creating Jobs Through Sports

The resilience of a youth-dominated sector like sports makes it a key economic driver for national economic revitalisation and job-creation.

To further enhance its potential to create more jobs, a Bawumia government will invest heavily in the sector through:

• Working with stakeholders to bring back the passion and love for sports.
• Establishing a Sports Development Fund to develop sports infrastructure, talent, and grassroots sports programmes, including the revival of Colts football and leagues across the country.
• Upgrading the surfaces of our football pitches to meet the highest international Standards (Kumasi, Accra, Cape Coast, Legon, Tamale & Essipong).
• Continuing the construction of AstroTurfs for every constituency to boost the development of our talents including juvenile football. Construction of AstroTurfs has increased from 3 in 2016 to 150 in 2024.
• start an “Operation Olympics Glory” programme by dedicating resources towards the preparation and readiness of athletes to the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, USA, including, where necessary, targeting specific sports for medals.
• Providing tax credits and rebates for companies sponsoring sporting activities and clubs.

Premier league

• Support the revival of the Premier League and Clubs to improve commercial viability, and to create related jobs; directing policy through the National Lotteries Authority and the Gaming Commission to establish and fund a Sports Employment Module to assist Premier League clubs fund operational expenses, including player remuneration, and provide a bus each to Premier League Clubs.
• Building six 5,000-seater capacity, standard stadiums in the 6 new regions.

School sports

• Promoting school sports by: establishing a Ghana School Sports Secretariat to create more opportunities for young people in sports and collaborate with international sports bodies like the NBA and NFL to make Ghana a hub for emerging sports in Africa; providing sporting equipment and kits, and other resources, to primary schools to facilitate a new School Sports Development Programme, and integrating a new, standardised school sports curriculum into physical education programmes across schools.
• Creating and implementing a stringent, regular maintenance plan to ensure the sustainability and longevity of all sports facilities across the country.
• Instituting training programmes for physical education teachers to enhance their ability to coach and nurture young talents 70.
• Partnering private sector stakeholders to develop a structured qualification system that allows athletes to progress from local to national competitions, ensuring fair representation and talent recognition.
• Designing and implementing a comprehensive database to track the progress of identified talents, in partnership with the private sector, to facilitate a data-driven approach to talent development for national teams.

E-Sports
Animation, gaming, and eSports represents a significant opportunity for investment in Ghana to establish itself as a hub for content creation for the region and globally.

With over 200 million gamers currently on the continent, expected to increase to over 500 million, the potential for creating thousands of jobs is substantial.

The strategy will include: initiating partnerships with the private sector to kick- start the development of a major Animation, Game Factory, and eSports infrastructure in Ghana recognising eSports as mainstream sports to attract eSports athletes to come to Ghana to participate in events, partnering global stakeholders in the Animation, Game Factory, and eSports ecosystem such as Sony, Electronic Arts, Apple, Google, Microsoft, Meta, International Esports Federation, and African Confederation of Digital Sports to help grow the sector in Ghana.