Country profile of Ghana: sport, politics and nation-building

Abstract

The profile gives an overview of the changing trends of sport policies adopted in Ghana and highlights how past political upheavals made it difficult to have stable sport development strategies. Currently, the emergence of different actors within the sport policy sub-system of Ghana is apparent however the reliance on government for the development of sport makes it difficult to decouple party politics from sport development strategy. The profile begins with a detailed account of the emergence of sport from pre-colonial, colonial and post-colonial traditions in the history of Ghana. This is followed by an analysis of the current structure of sport and funding patterns and trends. The dominance of football and contemporary issues such as migration, gender equality and disability are also discussed in terms of their impact on policy. The final part highlights the nascent ‘sport for development’ sector in relation to the United Nation’s MDGs and SDGs and how they have influenced sport policy and development in Ghana.