Cheddar emphasises need to nurture world-class athletes to aid nation’s development

Nana Kwame Bediako, the leader of the New Force Movement, has emphasised the importance of developing world-class athletes who will contribute to the country's economy. Nana Bediako, popularly known as Cheddar, made these statements during the launch of the New Force Movement manifesto, where he discussed some 12 pillars for economic revolution. According to Cheddar, Ghana had vast talent in sports, but yet the nation's infrastructure and support systems have struggled to keep pace with the evolving global landscape. This, he explained, was due to the lack of ownership and control of Ghana's academies and plans to establish 16 multifunctional sports academies across the country. 'To address these challenges, our policy introduces a multifaceted approach aimed at building the necessary infrastructure to support sports as engines of national development.' 'We would establish 16 multifunctional sports academies because we don't know where the next Messi or Ronaldo would be and we could find them in any of these regions. So we are not going to discriminate, and we are going to do so for this talent everywhere in Ghana,' he said. Cheddar further noted how the establishment of these academies would attract educational investors so that players would combine football with education. He also stated that nurturing world-class athletes has massive potential of contributing to the country's economy because these athletes could bring home billions. Source: Ghana News Agency