The Vice-Presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia on Sunday took time off his schedule to join football fans at the Wa Sports Stadium for the Elite Cup Group stage match between Wa All Stars and Berekum Chelsea.

The visit to the Stadium, which was unannounced, took many of the supporters present by surprise and immediately threw the stadium in ecstasy as the supporters rushed to catch a glimpse of the renowned economist.

Dr. Bawumia arrived at the Stadium just before the two teams and officials took to the field and was asked to join the pre-match exchange of pleasantries, which he agreed to, before he joined the other spectators in the stands to watch the game.

Speaking to the media at the Stadium, Dr. Bawumia explained why he was there and called on Ghanaians to support the local game since that is the sure way to ensuring the game develops and becomes globally competitive.

“I am in Wa today and I found out that Wa All Stars were playing with Berekum Chelsea and thought it was a good opportunity to come around and watch these stars of the two teams, very skilled players as I see. In Ghana we know that football is one of our strengths as far as sports is concerned, but if we don’t support the local game, our strength will reduce over time and my hope is that as Ghanaians we can all try to support the local league because that is really the future and the key to the strength of Ghana football in the future,” he said.

Dr. Bawumia explained why supporting the local game was critical to ensuring it develops to become truly globally competitive in answering a question on what he thought about the exodus of Ghanaian players to foreign leagues.

“Football is a globally competitive game and so players leave, even in the European leagues, they move from one team to the other and from one country to the other. I think that our local league needs more support and encouragement. We can certainly do better but I think that the more people come out to support them, the more revenues they can make and that will ensure that they can make more investments in the clubs. This is why I think the onus is on all of us as Ghanaians to support the local game,” Dr Bawumia noted.