The Ghana Blind Sports Association has set a target of at least qualifying three sports disciplines to the next Paralympic Games in Tokyo, Japan.
The body is working with a five-year development plan to develop blind sports in the country.
In the five year development document is the introduction of Goalball in the Universities and second cycle schools, to develop blind Judo, Showdown Tennis, Blind football and Athletics for the visually impaired to have access to sports.
The Ghana Blind Sports Association in 2015 introduced the national Goalball championship and in 2016 the Africa Union DAY Goalball event was also created to create more awareness on blind sports.
Goalball has been admitted in to Ghana Universities Sports Associations Games (GUSA Games) with University of Ghana, University of Education Winneba and Cape Coast University playing major role and the second cycle blind sports games to be introduced soon.
This year’s African Union Day Goalball Competition is slated for Kumasi in the Ashanti region at the Kwame Nkrumah University and Technology Campus and they will be joined by Greater Accra and the Brong Ahafo region to commemorate the Africa Union Day.
According to the President of the Ghana Blind Sports Association Eric Kissi, the event is to create more awareness and prepare the regions for the national championship to be held in Tamale in August. “We have a target, and our plan is to qualifier three or more events to the next paralympic games in Tokyo in 2020.”
The African Day is an annual commemoration of the foundation of the Organisation of African Unity on May 25, established in 1963. The day is observed in countries such as Ghana, Kenya, Spain, Tanzania, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
The Ghana Blind Sports Association is the sports wing of the Ghana Blind Union, and affiliated to the international Blind Sports Federation (IBSA) and mandated to develop blind sports in association with the National Paralympic Committee of Ghana.