Accra, May 26, GNA - Vice President John Dramani Mahama has called for an end to the categorisation of sporting disciplines, saying it was disincentive to the development of sports in the country.

"It is time we do away with the description, better known sports and lesser known sports. Every sporting discipline is important provided it promotes unity, which is the primary aim of sports," the Vice President stated.

He was speaking at the official launch of the 12th edition of the Africa Hockey Federation (AfHF) Africa Cup for Nations to be hosted by Ghana.

Vice President Mahama said the so called lesser known sports have rather brought more honours to the nation than the better known ones like football.

"Over the years, we have received a lot of trophies and medals from other sporting disciplines, whilst football, the most loved discipline has rather brought us heart attacks", Vice President Mahama said. He stated that hockey despite its description as a lesser known sporting discipline was the first to register the name of the country on the international scene by qualifying for the Hockey World Cup in 1975 hence it deserved the needed recognition.

Vice President Mahama noted that the country was capable of excelling in all sporting disciplines provided the right measures were adopted for talent identification and grooming.

The Vice President charged the various associations to map out effective strategies for identification and grooming of talents adding that it was the best way to develop sports in the country. Vice President Mahama said the era when almost all secondary schools in the country had a hockey pitch and equipment, must be revisited in a bid to popularise the sport in the country.

He said other sporting disciplines also had equal potential for growth and there was the need to break away from categorisation of sporting disciplines and give equal attention to all.

The Vice President performed a special ceremony to signal Ghana's readiness for the event by hitting a hockey ball, with a beautifully designed hockey stick on the podium.

The competition spans from July 10-18, at the Theodosia Okoh, National Hockey Stadium in Accra.