Kofi Adams says the grassroots competition remains at the planning stage, with no date given for a first edition.
Ghana's planned Constituency Games are still being worked on and have not reached the implementation stage, the Minister for Sports and Recreation, Kofi Adams, has said.
"Constituency Games is still work in progress," the minister said in comments carried by JoySports on the programme SportsLink, as reported by MyJoyOnline.
What the Games are meant to do
The proposal is to run organised competition at the constituency level, giving young athletes in communities a clear route to regional and then national championships. At present, many talented young people outside the big cities have no structured competition to be seen in.
Football, athletics, boxing and para-sports are among the disciplines listed for a first edition.
Samson Deen, president of the National Paralympic Committee \u2014 the body that oversees sport for athletes with disabilities in Ghana \u2014 has set out proposals under which athletes who do well could be connected to scholarships, sports academies and national development programmes. He has argued the system could help find athletes good enough for the Olympic Games, the Paralympic Games and World Championships.
The plan is not only for athletes. Earlier versions of the proposal included training young people as coaches, match officials and sports journalists, which would widen the number of jobs and skills created around community sport.
The open questions
Consultations on the initiative have raised concerns about access and fairness, and in particular how athletes based far from Accra will be brought in. That is a familiar complaint in Ghanaian sport, where facilities, funding and national attention are concentrated in the capital.
There is also the question of what happens after a talent is spotted. Identifying a promising boxer or sprinter in a constituency means little without regular coaching, a steady calendar of competition and institutional backing to keep the athlete developing.
The minister did not announce a start date, a budget or the number of constituencies that would take part in a first edition.
Sports Authority board to be reconstituted
Mr Adams also confirmed that the dissolved board of the National Sports Authority, the state agency responsible for sports facilities and administration, will be replaced soon. He indicated that some former members could return.
"We will soon reconstitute the new board," he said, adding that some of those dropped "may still have some expertise to offer". He explained that several board seats are filled by nominees of institutions, and those institutions may put forward the same people again.
Why it matters
The Constituency Games sit within the sports agenda of President John Dramani Mahama's government, which has stated an aim of building up grassroots participation.
For Ghanaians abroad who follow national teams and often fund young relatives' sporting ambitions at home, the scheme would matter mainly if it produces a reliable pipeline rather than a one-off event. For now, it remains a proposal.
