With passion for the growth of the gentleman’s game, ‘Cricket’ in Ghana, a group of former cricketers and enthusiasts have come together to form and register ‘Cricket for Ghana Foundation’ (CGF), as a not-for-profit organization by the Office of the Registrar of Companies (ORC).
The CGF birthed in April 2023 is aimed at giving back and contribute to the development of Cricket in Ghana.
The Vision of CGF is ‘To be a model sports institution to support the development and create a sustainable passion for the sport of cricket in Ghana’, while the Mission is ‘To use the power of cricket and outdoor recreation to create magical experiences that will enhance education, health and well-being among people’.
However, their objectives include, ‘To support the development of cricket in Ghana, to develop programmes to unearth talent in the sport of cricket, to identify cricket talent and provide support to the needy but brilliant children who seek to pursue education and develop skills in the sport of cricket, to use cricket as a tool to encourage education and promote partnership with educational institutions and to adopt cricket to promote health and wellness’.
Founder and Director of Cricket for Ghana Foundation, Philip Debrah Danquah in an interview with TalksenseSports outlines their plans.
“We want to get involved, to ensure that the beautiful game of cricket becomes a household sport, like football and other notable sports in Ghana. Cricket has strong values and until we do it regularly, it will be difficult for kids in school and those at the university level to really appreciate its essence. So, we want to drive this sport and having played it before and the exposure it has given us, we want to be ambassadors of the sport. And we do not think it will be no mean way of doing that, by setting up an organization like this to support the growth of the sport.” He noted.
“We are going to look at kids in various schools, whether public or private, universities, professional groups that wants to diversify, and the community (translating these school programmes), because we want to see people playing cricket on the street every day and not only at the national level or very competitive level. We are encouraging people, parents, proprietors, schools, colleges, communities that are interested in seeing their kids do something outdoor and we are willing to engage to see how best we can get involve, so that they can embrace cricket. Because it has a lot of values that can impact kids; mental toughness, thinking, team work, strategy, health and wellness, tolerance and fortitude.” He added.
At the moment, so many people are coming on board, private sector institutions, even people who have not been in cricket before, individuals at different work places, all showing a lot of interest and willing to come and support and so, we will be rolling out programmes soon” He concluded.
Having ‘Beyond Boundaries’ as their motto, the CGF members, (most of who have played cricket during their pursuit for educational excellence at Legon and other cricket playing tertiaries and second cycle institutions), are poised to get many people playing cricket with passion while putting Ghana on the global map in terms of cricket.
One can reach Cricket For Ghana Foundation on +233 (0) 208 587 527 or via email on [email protected]
Source: TalksenseSports