A three day handball referees and match delegates course has successfully ended in Tamale on Friday, 13th November, 2020. The course which started on Wednesday 11th November, 2020 was put together by the Handball Association of Ghana (HAG), the Confederation of African Handball (CAHB) and the Ghana Handball Referees Association, ended at the coverage room of the Aliu Mahama Sports Stadium in Tamale with a short closing ceremony.
The course had participants from the five regions of the north (Northern, North East, Savanna, Upper East and Upper West), Oti and Bono East Regions in attendance. Participants were taken through the rudiments of officiating in handball with the first two days used for theory and part of Friday’s session being practical.
Speaking at the closing session, Regional Director of the National Sports Authority in Northern Region, Madam Alhassan Salamatu called on participants to let the knowledge they have acquired serve as a stepping stone for them to learn more in the handball discipline. She was particularly happy about the youthful nature of participants and urged them to aspire to reach their fullest potential.
“This course you have had is very important. It will even add up to your CV. And also have in mind that wherever you are put, you should be able to use what you have learnt so that you can move forward. You have a brighter future ahead. The future is very bright for you, I can see that. So use what you have been taught here very well.” She stated.
For his part, Technical Director of the Handball Association of Ghana (HAG), Mr. George Bankole said the course will be the basis upon which similar courses will be organized in future beginning from early next year. He said he was happy with the attitude shown by all the participants during the course while also thanking facilitators for the good job they did in the training.
“It has been a very nice course that we have had. The only disappointment we have is that we were expecting more people to come but we didn’t see that happening. But on the whole it has been a very nice programme, the participants have given off their best, they have enjoyed it especially the practical aspect today. The instructors have equally done well especially our instructor from CAHB who moderated and taught via zoom; we all saw what he did. We are expecting that they will all go and impart what they have learnt here at their various locations. We are planning that just after January, we will do a follow up course and that one will be an IHF one and that will prepare most of them and bring them to the limelight.” George Bankole said.
A participant and course rep during the training, Amos Yakubu from the Upper East Region said the course will be beneficial to the eleven participants from his region in several ways. Adding that they will impart the knowledge they have learnt to others when they return to their base.
The only female participant at the course Selina Oforiwaa Gyan from the Bono East Region said she will ensure that what she has learnt is used to help bring attention to the handball discipline in the region since it was a newly created region. She was however disappointed that she was the only lady in attendance but hoped that it would encourage other females to join the course next time.
Participants were given certificates at the end of the course. Presentation of which were done by Madam Alhassan Salamatu, Mr. Samuel Nii Oblie, administrator at the Aliu Mahama Sports Stadium and Mr. George Bankole.
About 30participants took part in the three day course. The Tamale course followed a similar one that was done in Cape Coast a week ago.
Story By: Abdulai Majeed/Diamond FM Sports Desk Report
