Accra, April 22, GNA - Mr Idrissu Bawa, former captain of the national volleyball team, the Black Spikers has instituted a volleyball competition for female teams in the Northern, Upper East and Upper West Regions.

Mr Erasmus Adorkor, chief volleyball coach of the National Sports Council (NSC) said on Thursday that the inaugural tournament, which will hold at the end of April in Tamale, would provide a platform for national team selectors to identify talents.

He said the tournament, will be bankrolled by Mr Baba who lives in the United States of America and the three northern regions have been selected because they have been identified as the "catchments" area for volleyball because the people there are generally taller and fitter than people from other parts of the country.

Mr Adokor said another reason why the tournament has been sited in the north is that schools and other institutions and communities in that area have an immense interest in the sport.

The coach said in order to induce a massive participation, the Ghana Volleyball Association (GVA) has written to sports organisers of the Ghana Education Service in the three regions and other organised institutions and community organisations to prepare their teams for the big festival.

He said it has become necessary to revamp the female national team because most of the current crop of players is in the twilight of their playing days, as they are declining or fixated and cannot perform above their present levels.

Mr Adorkor called for the cooperation of all stakeholders, particularly those from the three northern regions to make the exercise a huge success since Ghana volleyball will be the winner in the end. It will be recalled that Mr Idrissu Bawa kitted the male and female national teams for the All Africa Games in Abuja in October last year. 22 April 04