Members of the Executive Board of the Ghana Taekwondo Federation (GTF) on Saturday visited the national team at their training base at the Sports Hall of the Accra Sports Stadium as they prepare for the All African Games (AAG) in August.
The meeting became necessary over the five athletes and two coaches’ inability to participate in the just ended 25th World Championship in Manchester, UK due to visa issues.
President of the GTF, Frederick Lartey Otu, who was accompanied by two other board members, Technical Director, Stephen Amegashie and Communications Director, Davis Nii Attuquaye Clottey explained to the players the effort made to acquire the visas for the entire team.
He dismissed claims in a section of the media that he abandoned the team for the World General Assembly.
“I had to apply for my visa separately after returning from World Taekwondo Africa General Assembly, because at that time the team had started their process already. I came in to support but unfortunately things didn’t go as expected. I left with permission from the NSA and approval by board members. Some of you the athletes saw me here a number of times, going up and down, trying to get things done. At a point in time, I worked with your Head Coach and Selasi at the GOC Office. How can I bring scouts from Italy to pick athletes to sponsor and then abandon the athletes?”
“My trip has brought good things for Ghana taekwondo. I had meetings with Daedo manufacturer for discussions on the usage of their products and discount offers; Generation 2 of the Protective and Scoring System for us; sponsors for our upcoming team championship in July and others. On this note, we want to encourage you to keep your commitment to training, and motivate yourselves as All African Games approaches,” he added.
Eunice Adedapo, one of the five athletes refused the visas for the Manchester championship apologized to the Board on behalf of the team and appreciated the effort of the president in helping some of them to pay for their visa processing fee.
Head Coach of the team, Maxwell Theodore Alornyo assured the President of the team’s loyalty to the executive of the GTF and disassociates the team from the media war against the executive.
The President has since presented a set of branded T Shirt and track suit to the team, from Charles Cromwell and his team.
