A multipurpose sports complex, to be known as the Emirate Arena constructed by Afro Arab Group of Companies was inaugurated on Saturday at Nima, a suburb of Accra, as part of efforts to promote sports in the area.
The 600-seater capacity stadium, according to the Chief Executive Officer of Afro Arab, Alhaji Abdul Salam Amadu, was also to nurture talents in the area to feed the national teams.
He said, Nima and the Zongo communities were abound with talents but needed the right facilities to develop their potentials.
“This is to assist the children who love football and other sports but lack the needed infrastructure to get on the right path to make a profession out of their talents, “he added.
He urged the youth in the Zongo to see life as a game of football, where every player in a team could score but at the end, the entire team emerges victorious.
“It is important for people to come together and work as a team to achieve a common goal that would transform their societies, “he stressed.
Italian Ambassador to Ghana, Giovanni Favilli, commended the construction company for the project, adding that, it was a great achievement that gives hope to the Zongo people.
He said, it would go a long way to nurture great people to become champions while others would have the opportunity to grow and learn in a playing atmosphere.
Having an artificial turf in the heart of Nima, he said, would go a long way to develop many talents for national purposes.
A football match between Team Bright Addae and Team Nwankwo Kanu was played as part of activities to unveil the stadium.
At the end, Team Addae won on penalties after the game that featured former national players including Dan Quaye, Mohammed Awal, Ibrahim Tanko Abubakari Damba and Nigerian football great, Nwankwo Kanu leading the Kanu team, ended 11-11.
BY MICHAEL D.ABAYATEYE
