Accra, Dec 23, GNA - The election congress of the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA) scheduled for Accra in June next year will open many doors for Ghana to benefit from a large reservoir of funds available at the International Olympic Committee (IOC)

Mr Benson T. Baba, President of the Ghana Olympic Committee (GOC) said the Congress would offer Ghana the opportunity to renew her goodwill among participants and place her needs on the table for discussions by the top brass of the Olympic family.

In an exclusive interview with GNA Sports, the GOC president said the Congress would bring to Ghana all those who dictate the tune in the Olympic family and an exhibition of the Ghanaian hospitality would soften the ground for Ghana to benefit from the IOC benevolence. He said already, an amount of 57 thousand dollars has been approved for further work on the development of the GOC training facility at Amasaman in the Ga District and an appraisal of the project by the IOC big wigs would reinforce Ghana's need for more funding.

Some of those expected to grace the occasion include Mr Jacques Rogge, President of the IOC and Mr Lamin Diack, President of IAAF. Mr Baba said even though Ghana does not have an IOC member at the moment, the GOC has been able to court the trust and sympathy of some key decision makers in ANOCA and the IOC leading to Ghana winning the bid to host the election congress ahead of Zimbabwe, which has an IOC member.

The GOC president said they were working hard to ensure that the Congress would be successful, adding that so far everything pointed to a well organised and hitch free convention as it has received full support from government.

He said to ensure that everything worked according to plan, the GOC had recommended the formation of eight committees to tackle specialised issues connected to the congress.

The committees to be formed are Finance, Security, Protocol, Media and Publicity, Sponsorship, Transport, Accommodation and Feeding and Medical.

He appealed to all Ghanaians to support the GOC in its bid to excel in the hosting of the Congress because its benefits go beyond sports and will spill over to the economy and better the lot of many people.

"Many credible people will be coming to Ghana with a lot of foreign money to spend and their stay will be beneficial to financial institutions, hoteliers, craftsmen and the business community in general and we must ensure that we host them well so that they can return at other times as tourists, Mr Baba said. 23 Dec 04