Sports Features of Sunday, 21 February 2021

Source: Dwamena Stephen, Contributor

Meet Owuraku Ampofo; the Sports Journalist using data to improve Ghana football

Sports Journalist, Owuraku Ampofo Sports Journalist, Owuraku Ampofo

Owuraku Ampofo is a Ghanaian football journalist who works with Joy Sports and specializes in Sports Data Journalism. He is one of Ghana's most trusted sports data reporters and highly recommended by his colleagues.

It is unlikely that he will report a story without data.

His inspiration to specialize in sports data journalism is to make people appreciate the Ghana Premier League and breach the gap between it and the English Premier League.

What makes Owuraku Ampofo unique and stand out in Ghana, among other journalists?

Well, Owuraku is not someone who is just going to report a matchday and go offline; he engages football fans on the socials and provides them with the player or team performance data they want to know apart from the general news that he breaks. Come on, send him a DM or try tweeting something at Owuraku regarding a player or team statistics. He will reply to you.

Apart from his open and friendly engagement with football fanatics, here are some facts you need to know about Owuraku Ampofo.

1. In context, Owuraku Ampofo provides update on Ghanaian players abroad and how their performances influence their teams.

2. Owuraku is the bridge between Ghana Premier League reporters and the game. He captures scenes and moments like on-field activities and gestures that the TV and Camera miss.

3. The “data guy” is a counting machine. He loves numbers. He enjoys research and making sense of numbers. He records individual player performance. Thus, the number of touches, number of passes, etc.

4. He is a football historian, researcher and data analyst.

5. Owuraku is a computer science graduate from Ashesi University College who codes python.

However, how he uses that in sports data journalism is a question for the gods.

Shoot him a DM:
Twitter - @_owurakuampofo
Instagram - @owuraku_ampofo