Mr Kobena Mensah Woyome, Member of Parliament for South Tongu, believes the upcoming Democracy Cup will be a unique event to celebrate Ghana’s growing democracy.
Hearts of Oak and Asante Kotoko are slated to face off in the Democracy Cup on Wednesday, July 17, 2024, as part of Ghana’s 30th anniversary of parliamentary democracy celebrations.
The first Democracy Cup match is being held under the theme “30 Years of Parliamentary Democracy Under the 4th Republic: The Journey Thus Far”.
Speaking in an interview ahead of the one-off cup match, Mr. Woyome, a Ranking Member on the Youth and Sports Committee of Parliament, said using sports as a tool to connect with the citizens would play a crucial role in involving them in the governance process.
“There is a need for us to protect our democracy, deepen our understanding, and get everybody to appreciate it, and this is the only sure way of developing our dear country.
“We have come a long way, and the best way to celebrate this achievement is through sports. Sports have been identified by the United Nations as a tool for development, so we are going to use sports so that people can appreciate and understand how democracy works.
“Thus giving voice to the voiceless and giving everybody the ability to impact the governance process. So Parliament being one of the crucial arms of government, it is important we have something in memory to celebrate every year to let people know that democracy has come to stay,” he said.
He urged supporters of the two Ghanaian heavyweight clubs to come in numbers and have fun as they unite despite being arch-rivals on the football scene.
The highly anticipated Democracy Cup between Hearts and Kotoko next Wednesday would be preceded by a curtain-raiser between Parliament and former Black Stars players.
The winner of the Hearts and Kotoko match would have an opportunity to play DC United in the United States of America later in the year.