Daboase (Western Region) - The Annual Western Region Inter District Under 12 Soccer Championship opened at Daboase in the Mpohor-Wassa East District on Monday.

It is being organised to select a team to represent the Western Region in the Inter-Regional Under 12 Soccer Tournament scheduled for Cape Coast from 25 April to 4 May.

Opening the tournament, Joseph Boahen Aidoo, Western Regional Minister, said the institution of the under 12 Soccer Championship was to provide convenient platform to unearth the hidden talents and potentials in the youth. He pointed out that athletics and sports in general aside their recreational nature, are now respected professions, adding that sportsmen and women are now among the richest and most respected people in the society.

Aidoo noted that sports in the present globalised world bring honour and glory to nations and "it is therefore imperative that all sporting activities need to be promoted in our schools, which usually serve as the breeding ground for top national sportsmen and women. Beyond its academic value, sports provide personal discipline, mental toughness, team work, dedication and unity", he stated.

Aidoo appealed to all students and especially those who have the talents to take sports seriously. "Most of our sportsmen and women, who have gained international recognition developed their talents when they were in school", he said.

The Regional Minister said the Government would ensure that sports development is given the much-needed attention in schools particularly at the basic level. Aidoo called on the organisers, coaches and players to put up their best so that the region would be able to present a formidable team during the inter regional competition in Cape Coast.

Ten out of the 11 districts are participating in the tournament. Wassa Amenfi District failed to turn up. In the opening match, Mpohor Wassa East District beat Jomoro District by three goals to two. Justice Entsie of Mpohor Wassa East District was adjudged the best player of the match. The five-day tournament ends on Friday.