Accra. Oct. 26, GNA - The National Sports Council (NSC) is to evolve strategies towards effective sports development and promotion with a concerted emphasis on the disabled and the lesser known sporting events.

The Council, to this end is to initiative a programme of re-branding of its activities and facilities and to re-orient the staff to play a leading role towards helping the country achieve positive results in its sports development with the massive support of the corporate world. The acting Chief Executive Officer of the Council, Mr Worlanyo Agra who said these at a media briefing in Accra on Tuesday, said the re-branding exercise which has the blessing of the Board would ensure that the Council was better placed to meet its mandate of sports development and to market its strengths and achievements. Mr Agra stressed the need for a collective response by all, especially the Board and staff to team up with corporate bodies to ensure that the Council's services are well marketed and developed to the benefit of the general public.

He said the exercise is also to encourage the staff to re-orient themselves to their work schedules and to have a change of attitude to ensure that they play their expected roles that would achieve positive results.

The Chief Executive Officer said the exercise is also to draw the public's attention to the Council's numerous facilities and to draw plans as to how they can be judiciously used to raise funds to support the Associations to undertake their sporting activities, both locally and for international feats.

Mr Agra noted that with a judicious use of the facilities, the Council can derive enough resources to undertake proper training and re-training of its technical staff and coaches to upgrade their knowledge and skills as well as support the various sports disciplines to develop.

The NSC boss said that since Government's budget alone cannot sustain activities of the Council, there is the need for corporate bodies to support competitions being embarked upon by the various Associations by branding the events with their company logos. Mr Agra said the facilities of the Council are at the disposal of the public and called on religious, musical and other groups to make use of them, especially the various stadia which have enough space for large gatherings.

He said the Council's gym is playing a vital role in enhancing the public's health needs and it is envisaged that such a facility would be extended to the regions for not only the use of athletes but for the use of the general public to maintain their health status. Mr Agra announced that additional 650 professionals will soon be recruited over a three year period after the take-off of the re-branding exercise to give meaning to the goals of the Council to enable it extend its activities to cover all districts and to develop various sporting events. The re-branding exercise, which would be launched at the Accra Sports Stadium on Friday, will also unveil a new logo of the Council on the theme: "Let's live, lets grow and develop" to be graced by President John Atta Mills, to be followed by a health and fitness walk on Saturday starting from the Polo Grounds through some principal streets and then to the stadium. 26 Oct. 10