The Upper West Regional Minister, Mr Mahmud Khalid, has called on tennis clubs in the three Northern Regions to encourage and involve many more people to use the sport to promote peace and friendship among the various ethnic groupings in the area.
Mr Khalid noted that the volatile situation that often resulted in conflicts, especially in the north could be eased by the promotion of sporting tournaments and other social activities.
The Regional Minister made the call at a two-day tripartite tennis tournament held in Wa on Friday for participants from the Upper West, Upper East and Northern Regions.
Mr Khalid said the formation of tennis clubs in the various towns must be encouraged, as they serve as assets to members of the communities and the youth but lamented that the importance of the sport had not received the desired attention in the development of sports especially in the northern parts of the country. "The time has come for the country to rethink and give equal attention to all sports. The traditional notion of developing sports stadia with only football as the focus, needs to be reconsidered", Mr. Khalid said.
He observed that many of the sports that were promoted in the country only encouraged spectatoring and not participation but noted, however, that with tennis, majority of those who visited the courts participated in the sport thereby contributing towards improving their health mentally and physical well being. Mr Khalid assured of the Regional Coordinating Council's support to promote the sport in the communities, adding that the perception that the sport was meant only for the elite must be discarded.
The Very Rev. Conrad Bayor, Chairman of the Wa Tennis Club, urged the 90 players participating in the tournament to use the occasion to develop ideas of integrating the people of the three northern regions.
He called on workers in the Wa Municipality to patronise the sport to socialise and keep themselves mentally and physically fit to enhance productivity at their workplaces.
