The newly elected executives of the Ghana Taekwondo Federation (GTF), led by President Frederick Lartey Otu, paid a courtesy call on the Ghana Olympic Committee (GOC) leadership at the GOC head office in Accra yesterday to formally introduce themselves and present their vision for the next four years.
The delegation was received by GOC President Richard Akpokavie, Second Vice President Ernest Danso, and General Secretary Kassim Muniru, who congratulated the new leadership on their successful election and reaffirmed the GOC’s commitment to supporting the federation.
President Akpokavie praised the GTF for conducting a peaceful and transparent electoral process, emphasizing that such democratic transitions strengthen confidence in sports administration. “It is good that it is broadcast so that people know that you’ve gone through a process democratically. Elections have taken place. You have been sworn into office. You’ve been recognized by a world body, and then you’re operating well,” he stated. “It helps to boost confidence in the federations and the GOC so that when we go to the corporate world, they also realize that we are serious people.”
The GOC President assured the new executives of unwavering support and called for collaboration to develop athletes and bring honours to Ghana. “The athletes are your athletes, the Federation. So we support you to make the athletes improve so that we can enter them for competitions to bring Laurels to Ghana,” Akpokavie said. He also highlighted the busy calendar ahead, including the African Games, Youth Olympics, African School Games, and the Olympic Games, urging the federation to work closely with the GOC to achieve set targets.
Akpokavie further encouraged the federation to consider co-opting more women into its structures as part of the GOC’s strategic plan to promote gender inclusion. “I think that if, by your consistency, you have the power to co-opt people, I think you should think about… so that they also learn the ropes as you go along, so that eventually one day you get a woman heading a region,” he advised.
In response, GTF President Frederick Lartey Otu outlined an ambitious grassroots development agenda aimed at unearthing talent from the grassroots level, noting that the current pool of athletes was aging and that deliberate efforts were needed to develop young talent.
“Our vision for the next four years is to develop the sport from the grassroots. We have noticed that our athletes are aging,” Lartey Otu said. He announced that the federation would launch an awareness campaign in Kumasi next month, targeting school children across the Ashanti Region. “We want to ensure that this awareness campaign goes to five regions before the end of the year—regions that in the past years have been deprived of taekwondo programs,” he added.
The GTF President also outlined plans to begin talent identification programmes early next year to build a sustainable pipeline of athletes for national and international competitions.
Second Vice President Ernest Danso advised the new executives to involve all regional stakeholders in their programmes to avoid resistance and ensure the success of their initiatives. “My advice is that the regions that you’re going to go to, various districts and everything, you get all of them involved, especially the stakeholders in those regions, so that they will be part of this whole national agenda,” he said.
General Secretary Kassim Muniru urged the new leadership to remain focused and work hard, noting that there would be people waiting for them to fail. “That should motivate you to work harder, and these plans you have put before us, I hope that you are able to implement them. That way I’m sure you would succeed,” he advised.
The GTF executive board includes President Frederick Lartey Otu, Vice President Maxwell Theodore Alornyo, Secretary General Kankpenuba P. N. Wisdom, Technical Director Simon Gluikpor, and Member Hannah Akua Humphrey.
