MEDIA BRIEFING BY THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION, SCIENCE AND SPORTS ON GHANA’S PREPARATIONS TOWARDS THE HOSTING OF THE 26TH AFRICA CUP OF NATIONS IN JANUARY, 2008

INTRODUCTION

On Friday 19th October, 2007, the draw for the 26th African Cup of Nations soccer tournament was held at the International Conference Centre to a live audience across the world.

This major event signifies how far we have come and how close we are to hosting a memorable continental soccer event in Ghana between January 20 and February 10 2008.

Once again, Ghana will be the centre of world attention, months after celebrating our golden jubilee anniversary and hosting African heads of state and government at the historic African Union Summit.

We will be hosting the world and inviting everyone to the Ghana CAN 2008 tournament appropriately dubbed “Sharing Passions at the Centre of the Earth.”

On Tuesday and Wednesday, the 16th and 17th October, 2007, the CAF inspection team led by CAF President Issa Hayatou conducted its official ninth and final inspection of facilities in the host cities.

The highest body of CAF is satisfied with our progress so far and has commended Ghana for the investment and commitment towards hosting the tournament.

We are meeting you, ladies and gentlemen of the media this morning to provide information on preparations being made towards hosting this prestigious soccer tournament in the four main cities of Tamale, Kumasi, Accra and Sekondi-Takoradi and indeed throughout the country.

Beyond the provision of stadia and training centres, the host cities will have to provide accommodation, land and air transport, media services, security, broadcast services, attractions and events during non-match days, as well as other services for the successful hosting of the tournament which the Black Stars are also poised to win for the fifth time.

The Local Organising Committee is also required to manage ticketing, accreditation, marketing and branding, the volunteer corps, hospitality operations and fan zones.

Ghana 2008 offers us the opportunity to showcase Ghana and position Africa as a strategic sports-tourism destination during our golden jubilee year and towards the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

Ghana CAN 2008 is therefore a national affair, which involves all Ministries, Departments and Agencies of government, the private sector and the general public.

Stadia and Training Centres

As everybody now surely knows, the government has built four state-of-the-art stadia and constructed fifteen training centres including the refurbished El-Wak stadium across the country at the tournament venues for the sixteen teams who will be participating in the Africa Cup of Nations.

For the first time in our history, the government has built stadia with seating capacity of over 40,000 in Kumasi and Accra, and over 20,000 in Sekondi and Tamale

The fifteen training centres, some of which are located in our educational institutions are at their final stages of completion. The refurbished El-Wak stadium is already in use for local and international matches. The four stadia will be handed over to us this month and the training centres by next month.

Indeed the contractors for the Sekondi and Tamale stadia are ready and have been anxious to hand over the facilities for some time while we expect to commission the Accra and Kumasi ones in early November, 2007.

We also expect the external works for the Tamale and Sekondi Stadia to be completed within November.

With regard to the training centres which include construction of football pitches, installation of drainage and irrigation facilities, construction of changing rooms and spectators’ stands in some educational institutions, we are certain to commission them by end of November, 2007.

Given the state and progress of work, we are able to reassure the nation that there is no need to panic and all the facilities, which are part of the legacy for Ghana CAN 2008, will be ready for the tournament.

Accommodation

Ghana would be expecting hundreds of thousands of visitors for the tournament and this means we must provide accommodation. Already, the Ministry in conjunction with the LOC has made arrangements with the hospitality industry to identify enough facilities to serve the accommodation needs of the major participants during the tournament. These include FIFA and CAF officials, match officials, participating teams and their officials and specially invited dignitaries from the participating nations and of course, most important, the football fans.

We are aware that some have expressed anxiety about accommodation in Tamale. We are proud to state that the University of Development Studies facility in Tamale, which is a 240-room three-star hotel constructed by government is very near completion for use by the participating teams and officials and has been given the seal of approval by CAF.

The construction of the 160-room 4-star Golden Tulip Hotel in Kumasi will also be completed to accommodate teams and officials in Kumasi, a major venue for the tournament.

Cape Coast and Elmina will accommodate some of the teams to be based in Sekondi in view of the anticipated high patronage by our West Africa friends from NIGERIA, COTE D’IVOIRE, MALI and BENIN.

In order to address the needs of the large number of other guests made up of supporters, fans, and the media who we are not required to provide with official accommodation, the Ministry and the LOC are in discussions with the nation’s universities - University of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Cape Coast University and the University of Development Studies - to make some of their facilities available.

This will free several hostels at the four venue cities for occupation by the numerous spectators. We are also considering the possibility of falling on some of the facilities of some of the secondary institutions in the Central, Western regions and in Tamale to be used by the anticipated large number of fans.

TRANSPORTATION

Land Transport

In respect of transportation, buses will be provided for the participating teams and officials at the various venues. Buses and saloon cars from the Ghana@ 50 secretariat will be used for this purpose.

Metro Mass Transit has started bringing in buses and by the start of the tournament the numbers brought in would have reached two hundred. This will augment the existing fleet to serve the numerous fans across the country.

We are making arrangements with MMT to provide special services and routes for fans during the tournament at all the venues. The plan is to encourage as many people as possible to use public transport and discourage the use of private vehicles.

Intercity STC is also bringing in buses for various routes in the cities and throughout the country. This will be in addition to services to be provided by other private transport companies throughout the country.

Air Transport

Work is proceeding on the rehabilitation of our airports at Kumasi, Tamale and Takoradi and the construction of Airfield pavements and Aeronautical Ground Lighting systems is on course.

Building works, which cover Terminals, Control Towers, Fire Station and VIP lounges in the three cities are also progressing.

We have been assured of the completion of the required works and the provision of additional aircraft for air transport before the commencement of the tournament.

With the first class motorable roads from Accra to Sekondi and Accra to Kumasi and beyond, we expect to operate a smooth transportation system during the tournament.

We shall institute various measures like car park management and traffic controls, information desks to provide assistance and information to tournament officials and the general public.

A command centre and transportation office at each venue will be established.

SECURITY

Government regards as paramount the safety of everyone during the tournament. We know that the majority of people will be keen to have a good time and cheer on their teams. We also know that there will be some miscreants who would be intent on disrupting the event for whatever misguided reasons. We assure the nation that the majority will be protected and given room to enjoy the tournament and the miscreants would discover there would be ZERO TOLERANCE for them.

Access to restricted areas will be controlled through Accreditation Cards, Tickets, Vehicle passes etc.

Security checks will be carried out at stadia entrances, spectators will be provided escorts and seat guidance while all facilities will be kept under constant security search.

We are installing various monitoring cameras at strategic points and hands-on security will be provided at the CAF Headquarters hotel, referees headquarters hotel, teams hotels, airports, transport stations and routes etc.

National Security has developed guidelines and policies to cover general security, hooliganism, terrorism etc. 

Accreditation cards, which will feature prominently in the security arrangement, will be issued to tournament officials, team delegations, sponsors, media, volunteers and other special groups.

The National Security will establish a security command centre, which is linked to the security centre at each venue. The security command centre will oversee security operation through information sharing and coordination with security agencies.

TOURISM 2008

There is no doubt that the hosting of Ghana CAN 2008 tournament will attract hundreds of thousands of tourists to Ghana and billions of viewers across the world.

Acknowledging the immense tourist opportunities associated with the hosting of Ghana CAN 2008 and other major sporting events especially the 2010 South Africa World Cup, the UN World Tourism Organisation has appointed Ghana as a key member of a steering committee to maximize the tourism value of international sports events. The tourism sector is expected to position itself to maximize the tourism value of Ghana CAN 2008 by capitalizing on Ghana 2008 arrivals and exposure.

We expect the tourism sector to contribute to a successful soccer fiesta, brand Ghana as a tourism destination, advance the tourism competitiveness agenda of Ghana and thereby contribute to sustainable GDP growth of our nation.

The tourism sector is therefore crucial in the provision of information and accommodation, organisation of tourist attractions and events, marketing and branding Ghana, transport and safety and addressing poor service levels and skills shortages at major consumer centres.

The Ghana 2008 LOC and the tourism sector under the auspices of the Ministry of Tourism and Diasporan Relations are collaborating to ensure a very successful soccer event and maximize the tourism value of the tournament.

This collaboration identifies the key role of the Metropolitan and Municipal authorities in the host cities. As members of the Venue Organising Committees the city authorities are required to supervise the cleaning of the cities and beach fronts, create leisure spots for night entertainment, provide city maps and update directional signs, which should include street names, tourist information signs and welcome signs etc.

Ghana CANfest areas and other places for tourists will be organised by all the venue city authorities and other district assemblies to ensure that supporters and sports fans become part of the event even outside the major host cities and offer more opportunities for tourism and business.

Opportunities abound to market and brand Ghana at Ghana CAN 2008 for significant economic, social, cultural and political benefits.

VOLUNTEERS

Given the scale and scope of the tournament and the symbolism, prestige and opportunity to showcase our culture, history and unique status on our continent, we need to mobilize all resources, capital and human to achieve the laudable objectives of Ghana CAN 2008.

The big responsibility associated with the organisation of the tournament requires that we invite and recruit persons who will freely assist in making the tournament very exceptional.

These unpaid helpers, who will be volunteers, will be expected to make enormous contribution to the successful hosting of the tournament.

We are gathering these volunteers from different backgrounds with diverse skills and from various age groups, and they do not necessarily need to be Ghanaians; all we ask is that they have a passion to make our visitors feel at home.

A very successful volunteer programme will undoubtedly contribute significantly to the atmospheric, organisational and indeed the financial success of Ghana 2008 Africa Cup of Nations.

With the volunteer programme, the nation will receive the whole world and confirm our status as friendly country that is generous towards guests.
During the three weeks of the tournament, the volunteers will be the frontline and public face of our nation and would be called upon to handle all sorts of situations, some of which may be less than glamorous.

The government, the LOC and sponsors, knowing the significance of the volunteer programme, will provide funding and technical support for recruitment, training, subsistence and other logistics to ensure we have a very fruitful programme.

Some of the Volunteers administration offices have been established at the LOC secretariat and venue offices for recruitment and administration of the programme.

A series of training sessions are to be conducted after which volunteers will be assigned to functional groups for general and specific training including rehearsals during other games and international matches.

In all we expect to assign about two thousand five hundred volunteers to accreditation centres, matches, Ghana LOC headquarters information service centers, media centres and tourist centres.

Broadcasting Rights

The African Football Confederation (CAF) has the rights to the broadcasting of the tournament and the broadcast marketing is by a French-based company SPORTFIVE.

Any and all rights to transmit audio, audio-visual text and other data on television or any other medium excluding the print media are to be marketed by Sportfive.

The Ghana 2008 LOC is required to be in charge of the production of the international feed for the thirty-two matches to be played in Ghana between January 20 and February 10, 2008.

The Ministry of Education, Science and Sports, the LOC and SPORTFIVE have entered into contract for SPORTFIVE to be responsible for the production of the international feed for all matches.

SPORTFIVE will produce and make the international feed available to the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation. GBC will be based in Tamale and cover all the matches live from Tamale.

SPORTFIVE will make available the international feed on satellite free of charge for GTV to show to the nation within Ghana.

SPORTFIVE will however be responsible for the coverage and transmission to the rest of Africa and the World at agreed costs.

Ticketing

We are informed by the LOC that after submission of bids by interested companies, the CAF Executive Committee has approved the selection of Turnstiles Print Limited as the company to produce tickets for the 32 matches of the tournament.

The Ministry is awaiting the official report of the deliberations for further action. 

The matches will attract a minimum gate fee of GH¢ 10.00 for the seats behind the goal posts and around, GH¢20.00 for the seats in the middle with the exception of corporate boxes which will attract special rates, GH¢ 100.00 for the wings at the VIP section and GH¢ 200.00 for the VIP section.

It is important that the entire nation appreciates the magnitude of the organisation associated with hosting fifteen popular African teams with their officials and supporters as well as other spectators across the world for three whole weeks.

This calls for sacrifice, patriotism, commitment, hard work and excellent marketing and branding skills. Government is investing a lot of money and the infrastructure that has been built will serve generations to come. It is up to us, individual Ghanaians to see ourselves as hosts and seize the opportunities that the tournament provides and make the best out of it.

It is worth all the sacrifice because Ghana stands to gain immensely by hosting the 2008 Cup of Nations. 

What about the football, I hear you ask. Well, we believe we have put all that is required in place. It is now up to our Coach and Captain Stephen Appiah and his colleagues. We expect the Cup to stay in Ghana, we expect to HOST AND WIN.

We thank you for your attention.