IBSA promotes football 5 in Ghana

The International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA) Football Committee has supported a development initiative to introduce the game to Ghana.

Based on a project designed by Dr. Rolf Husmann, team manager of the German national blind football team, and Kofi Osei, former German national blind football player and Ghanaian by birth, the aim of the project was to set the foundations for a sustainable and viable blind football programme in the East African country.

With support from IBSA, Dr. Husmann contacted Frederick Assor (IBSA Football Committee member from Ghana) to set up the project for three weeks in February 2017 in Accra.

Dr. Hussman then enlisted the help of Osei, an invaluable assistant to the project with extremely high motivation and competence, due to his origins in Ghana and his knowledge of local practices and language.

The project was designed to serve three aims:

• Create and organise the framework for a start-up workshop for blind football

• Carry out that workshop for a period of three days

• Establish structures for the sustainable development of blind football in Ghana.

The key people on the ground in Ghana were Frederick Assor and Dan Niii Mensah, owner of the Dan deVan Group of companies and head of the Dan deVan Association for Disabled Sport, the sole source of local funding for the project.

Also involved was Enrico Gobel, assistant coach of the German national blind football team, who was sent by IBSA to conduct as head coach the three-day workshop.

Ten local players, several coaches and two female guides were trained during the workshop.

Following the visit, the local players have continued to meet for training.

Ghana is looking to make their international debut at the IBSA Blind Football African Championships in Cape Verde from 13-22 October.

More on the football 5-a-side project in Ghana can be found on IBSA’s website.