GRi in Parliament 20 - 01 – 2000 

Parliament sends best wishes to Black Stars

Accra (Greater Accra), 20^th January 2000

Parliament on Thursday conveyed a message of best wishes to the national senior soccer team, the Black Stars, and urged the squad to go all out and win the coveted trophy at stake for an unprecedented fifth time.

The Black Stars go into action against their Camerounian counterparts in the opening game of the 22nd African Cup of Nations tournament, dubbed "CAN 2000", at the Accra Sports Stadium on Saturday.

The message from Parliament followed a statement on the tournament by Mr. Moses Mabengba, Chairman of the House Committee on Youth, Sports and Culture.

Mr. Mabengba noted that CAN 2000 is significant, in that, it is being co-hosted by two great soccer nations, Ghana and Nigeria, which is the first of its kind in Africa and indeed, the world at large.

He said the competition is taking place at the dawn of a new millennium and also after the two countries had successfully hosted the "Under-20" Youth Soccer tournament at the continental and the world levels in 1999.

The African Cup of Nations, he said, has undergone an evolution since its establishment in February 1957 by the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

It has grown from a modest number of three nations (Sudan, Egypt and Ethiopia), playing at the first tournament, to the current 16-nation competition.

Mr. Mabengba recounted the number of times Ghana has won the competition and said the country became the proud winners of the cup for the first time when it hosted it in 1963.

The country defended the trophy at the fifth edition of the competition held in Tunisia in 1965 then won the cup again and for keeps when it hosted the 11^th edition in 1978.

He said for the fourth time, Ghana won the cup at the 13^th edition of the competition hosted by Libya in 1982, an achievement only equalled by Egypt in 1998.

"Mr. Speaker, your Committee would like to use this platform to wish our national team, the Black Stars, and the technical bench, the best of luck and urge them to go all out to win the trophy for the fifth unprecedented time.

"To this end, we want to call on all Ghanaians to lend their massive support to the team and cheer our gallant warriors to victory", Mr. Mabengba said.

Alhaji Malik Al-Hassan Yakubu, NPP-Yendi, supported Mr Mabengba's statement, saying football is one area that could make a country famous and attract investment.

He, therefore, urged all Ghanaians to pray for the national team to bring honour to the country, and said "a victory for Ghana will for the moment, enable us to forget our economic woes".

Alhaji Mumuni Abudu Seidu, Deputy Majority Leader, expressed the hope that the Black Stars would, this time, rise to the occasion and make Ghana proud by winning the trophy.

He said as MPs, "we represent the people. We mirror what they want for themselves. This is not the time to apportion blame or claim credit. We must confront the situation with a united front to bring honour to our dear country"

He appealed to members of the public and sports writers to bear with the players, saying, "the players may put up their best but this may not be good enough. This is the time they need our support to be able to rise to the occasion".

Mrs. Gladys Asmah, Deputy Minority Leader, noted that football has become an international language and craved the indulgence of the House to pray for the team to do their best.

Mr. Abuga Pele, NDC- Chiana/Paga, said the tournament is a prelude to the World Cup and an opportunity for the Black Stars to test their abilities and prepare psychologically for the global soccer competition.

He urged the team not to underrate any country in the competition but to put up their best throughout the contest.

Mr. Osei Kwaku, NPP-Asokwa West, called on Ghanaians to give their unflinching support to the Stars to spur them on to triumph in the competition.

The Rev. Samuel Kwofie, NPP-Ahanta West, noted that even though the sector caters for both sports and the youth, more attention is paid to sports development to the detriment of youth employment.

He, therefore, urged the Ministry to do all it can to enable the youth to benefit from the "Youth-in-Agriculture" programme to help address the problem of unemployment.

GRi