The maiden edition of the Kayayei Tug of War Championship has been successfully held at Agbogloshi, a suburb of Accra with hundreds of Kayayei coming out in their numbers to witness their colleagues ”Push & Pull To Stardom”.
The participants, who combined skill, strength, and teamwork, displayed a great deal of fighting spirit, battling each other in a bid to emerge winners of the competition which has been embraced by all.
Interestingly, there were over 15 teams who had expressed their interest in participating in the championship, namely, BigBem Girls, Bignalib Girls, Button Girls, Chaal Girls, Kuchar Girls, K.K.N.T Girls, N-Nalug Girls, Royal Girls, Golden Girls, Gye Nyame Girls, Rock Gym Girls, Nature Women, Nankpando Girls, Stone Girls, Vim Girls, Kpalb Girls, Kanjo Posaa and Top Girls.
However, due to time constraints, the organizers eventually settled on 10 teams which were selected in collaboration with their leadership.
By 10am, all was set and the competition begun with each game featuring 3 pulls, in which the team that wins the most pulls qualifies to the next stage of the competition.
After several exciting and challenging games, Nankpando, Kanjo Posaa, KKNT, and Bignanlib qualified for the semi-final stage of the championship.
At this stage, the four teams that qualified to the semi-finals have also qualified to participate in the “Justify Your Inclusion” training programme designed to select a team to represent Ghana at the upcoming African Tug Of War Championships in Zimbabwe in June 2024.
In the first semi-final game, Kanjo Posaa defeated Bignalib pulling 2 straight to qualify for the finals while the second semi-final game also saw KKNT defeating Nyankpado 2-1 to qualify to the final, leaving Bignalib and Nankpando to face off in a battle for third and fourth place.
In the Third and Fourth place game, Bignanlib defeated Nankpando to secure the third position after losing to KKNT in the semifinal battle, leaving Nyankpado Girls in the 4th position.
Finally, Kanjo Posaa defeated KKNT by pulling 2 straight again, to be crowned champions of the day with KKNT automatically taking the second position.
As the Champions, Kanjo Posaa took away 700ghc cash, Medals, T-shirts, and products from sponsors as the ultimate prize.
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The second prize of 500ghc cash, Medals, T-shirts, and products from sponsors went to KKNT.
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The third prize, comprising 300ghc cash, Medals, T-shirts, and products from sponsors went to Bignalib.
Nankpando which took the fourth position went home with Ghc200.00 and some products from sponsors.
The event was put together by Tug Of War Association of Ghana (GHATOWA) under the auspices of the National Sports Council, was supported by Equator Foods Ghana Limited and One On One Foundation led by Frank Mensah.
Speaking with media after the event, Mr. William Ayiku Ocansey, Communication Director for GHATOWA observed that the girls possess great talents that when given the necessary opportunities, will take them palaces.
Mr. Emmanuel Ola Williams, Founder and President of GHATOWA congratulated the winners and expressed his appreciation to all participants for embracing the initiative and encouraged them to develop their skills in the sport since it can take them to places.
He also called on the Corporate community as well as Religious and Civil Society Organisations to join GHATOWA by supporting them to organize more progammes for the Kayayei.
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He also called on traders and the business community, in general, to lend a helping hand to the kayayei, adding that their contribution to Ghana’s economy cannot be overemphasized.
Also present at the event were Solomon Ndaranam who was the MC for the days as well as the Chairman of the Cargo Drivers Association in Agbogbloshie and his entourage.
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