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Tag: Samson Deen

  • 967 athletes and officials to storm Ghana for maiden African Para Games 

    967 athletes and officials to storm Ghana for maiden African Para Games 

    Ghana is set to welcome 967 athletes and officials for the maiden edition of the African Para Games scheduled for September this year. 

    President, African Paralympic Committee, Samson Deen, during an interaction with host of Peace FM’s morning show, Kokrokoo, said facilities to host the participants and their officials are ready.

    “We have made arrangements with about 18 hotels in Accra to host our participants as well as officials,” he said. 

    About the African Para Games 

    The African Para Games aims to provide African para-athletes with a world-class, multi-sport event on the African continent.

    General Assembly of the African Paralympic Committee (AfPC) in 2021 in Rabat, Morocco, elected and endorsed the Republic of Ghana to host and organize the first African Para Games. Pursuance to the decision in 2017 by the AfPC General Assembly to have a stand-alone multi-para sports event for persons with disabilities and an impairment in Africa.

    The African Para Games is aimed at providing African Para Athletes with the opportunity to experience a world-class multi-sporting event on the African continent, serve as a catalyst for further development and promotion of para-sports in Africa, increasing qualification opportunities for our athletes towards Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, promote inclusion further and become a prominent part of our rich African cultural heritage and diversity transforming into a formidable arena for celebrating our exceptional African Para athletes’ sporting excellence to inspire a better Africa and sports diplomacy.

    On Friday, 24th of February 2023, the Honorable Minister of Youth and Sports – Ghana formally inaugurated the African Para Games, Accra 2023 Local Organizing Committee (LOC) to oversee the organization and successful delivery of the Games. Following the inauguration, the LOC, in consultation with the Ministry of Youth and Sports, Ghana and other key stakeholders, announced the 3rd to 12th September 2023 as the OFFICIAL DATES for hosting and organizing the First African Games, Accra 2023.

    The Official Sports Programme for the African Para Games Accra 2023 for athletes, coaches, technical officials, and team officials from the over Forty-eight (48) National Paralympic Committees (NPCS) across Africa includes seven sports disciplines, namely: Amputee Football, Goalball, Para Athletics, Para Powerlifting, Para Volley, Wheelchair Basketball, and Wheelchair Tennis.

    Mr Deen believed this is a big platform and area I look forward to Africa to use to increase our numbers to the Paralympic Games.

  • African Paralympic Games president requests postponement of games

    African Paralympic Games president requests postponement of games

    President of the African Paralympic Committee, Samson Deen, has made a request to postpone the upcoming Games from September to November due to ongoing delays in facility completion.

    Ghana, the host country for the event scheduled to take place from September 3 to 12, 2023 in Accra, appears to be unprepared for the competition.

    The Legon stadium, designated for track and field events, has yet to be finished, posing a potential risk to the timely commencement of the continental sports extravaganza.

    In an interview with Joy Sports, Deen disclosed that proposals have been submitted to reschedule the starting date, allowing additional time for the necessary construction work to be completed.

    “We had a stakeholder meeting with the international federations and at the same time, the entire African membership where we have made a bit of proposals to postpone the games from September to November to try to fix the challenges before time,” he said.

    The tentative plan to postpone the games is yet to be communicated.

  • Para-sports: Sampson Deen engages Moroccan govt on advancement of the sport

    Para-sports: Sampson Deen engages Moroccan govt on advancement of the sport

    Samson Deen, the president of the African Paralympic Committee (AfPC), has visited the Moroccan Ministry of National Education, Primary Education, and Sports to discuss including parasport on the agenda of the Specialized Technical Committee (STC) at its upcoming meeting.

    In order to include para-sport in its bid and hosting of the African Games as a stand-alone event after the Olympic event, the African Paralympic Committee (AfPC), which owns and runs the African Para Games within the African continent, has taken steps to collaborate with the African Union Sports Council (AUSC).

    Samson Deen, the president of the AfPC, has started working with the African Union (AU) Member States’ Ministries of Sports to include parasport in the AUC’s Specialized Technical Committees.

    During the visit, Samson Deen seized the opportunity to meet, discuss and share with the representative of the Hon. Minister of Sports, Mr Abderrazzak Akkari, who is the Director of Sports at the Ministry of National Education, Primary Education and Sports, some vital information of mutual interest regarding the Inclusion of Para Sport, bidding and hosting, participation and organisation strategy.

    The AfPC also proposed it will need the support of the majority of the AU Member States to support the inclusion of the AGENDA in the next sitting of the Specialized Technical Committee.

    Ghana is set to host the First African Para Games, Accra 2023, which was slated for 3rd to 12 September 2023 in Accra, Ghana, but could see the date for the commencement of the event pushed further backwards after the AUSC communicated with its members a new date had been proposed for the African Games 8-23 2024.

    The Ministry presented a Souvenir of the forum and gifts as a token of appreciation and gratitude for the excellent cooperation, presented by Mr Abderrazzak Akkari, who is the Director of Sports at the Ministry of National Education, Primary Education and Sports and the President of the Royal Moroccan Federation of Sport for Persons with Disabilities Mr Hamid Al Ouni to the President of African Paralympic Committee.

    The African Paralympic Committee’s President will pay a courtesy call to the Minister of Sports of Egypt on Monday, 13 March 2023.