Barbados to help develop Cricket in Ghana
Prime Minister of the Republic of Barbados, Mia Mottley, has disclosed that discussions are ongoing between the Republic of Barbados and Ghana to help develop Cricket in the country.
Cricket which started off as an unknown sports in the early centuries is now the world’s second most popular spectator sport after football and/or soccer in specific jurisdictions and is also a multi billion dollar revenue generating sport globally.
Speaking at the Ghana-Barbados Business Roundtable held under the auspices of the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC), on Monday, March 7, she said talks have already advanced between the Ghana Cricket Association and the Barbados Cricket Association to sign a Memorandum of Understanding towards the development of Cricket in Ghana.
“The Barbados Cricket Association and the Ghana Cricket Association will be engaging in a Memorandum of Understanding. We (Barbados) want to make Cricket a professional sport here (Ghana) so that we can create many careers right here in Ghana,” she stated.
Priding herself with what cricketers with Barbados nationality have achieved over the years, PM Mia Mottley made mention of some top personalities who have contributed greatly to the development and popularization of the Cricket sport across the world.
“It is a fact as Barbados matter when it comes to the production of cricketers with world recognised cricketers including George Challenor, Joel Garner, Gordon Greenidge, Wes Hall, Desmond Haynes, Conrad Hunte, Malcolm Marshall, Garry Sobers, Clyde Walcott, Everton Weekes and Frank Worrell.
“Barbados has the reputation for the greatest cricketers in the world and we still have good ones,” she said.
“We believe that we can share here and with every other country which is interested in Cricket so that it will help expand the opportunities for young people,” she added.
Barbados are one of the top countries when it comes to Cricket in the Carribean region but does not take part in any international competitions with the 1998 Commonwealth Games tournament being an exception.
Barbados have won the Professional Cricket League (which includes the Regional Four Day Competition on 23 occasions with the last coming in 2020).
On the other hand, the Ghana Cricket are yet to pick any silverware on the African continent wirh some few achievements in the Divisions after playing its first ICC tournament in March 2004, defeating Malawi in a play-off to finish third (of eight teams) in the Africa Affiliates Tournament.
The partnership will go a long way to help both countries especially Ghana as the Cricket team are gearing towards a participation in the All African Games to be staged in Accra next year after the organisers announced the T20 series will be one of the sporting disciplines to be added to the continental showpiece.
