Ghana’s Sports and Recreation Minister has challenged Africa to stop treating sport as a cultural pastime and recognise it as a strategic economic sector capable of generating jobs, investment and global competitiveness.
Speaking at the opening of the eighth AIPS Africa Congress in Banjul on Thursday, Kofi Iddie Adams told sports journalists and policymakers that Africa’s sports economy represents less than 0.5 percent of continental gross domestic product despite the region accounting for 17 percent of global population.
The Minister disclosed that while the global sports industry was valued at more than 512 billion United States dollars in 2023 and is projected to reach 624 billion dollars by 2027, Africa’s entire sports economy is estimated at just 12 billion to 15 billion dollars.
Adams said the imbalance reflects deep structural weaknesses including poor infrastructure, weak commercialisation frameworks, governance gaps and restrictions on intra African mobility for athletes and fans.
“We export our talented athletes at low costs and consume expensive foreign sports content, yet we have the capacity to create and retain significant value here at home,” the Minister stated at the Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara International Conference Centre in Bijilo.
The congress, held from February 6 to 9 under the theme “Digital Media, AI, and Ethical Journalism in Africa,” brought together 30 national associations of sports press affiliated to the Association of International Sports Press from across the continent.
Adams pointed to emerging models in countries such as Morocco, Rwanda and Tanzania, where deliberate policy alignment and investment have positioned sport as both an economic and diplomatic asset.
He said similar reforms are underway in Ghana, where government is repositioning sport as a pillar of national development.
These measures include restoring free to air broadcasting of the Ghana Premier League, increasing prize money and establishing the Ghana Sports Fund as a permanent financing mechanism to support infrastructure, grassroots participation and athlete development.
The reforms have helped Ghana host 12 international sporting events in 2025, strengthening its profile as a multi sport destination ahead of upcoming continental championships.
Adams announced that Ghana will host the 24th African Senior Athletics Championships and the 15th African Armwrestling Championships, inviting African countries and the media to help reshape the continent’s sports narrative.
The Minister devoted a significant portion of his address to the media, acknowledging the pressures of the digital age while urging sports journalists to balance speed with accuracy and depth.
“When reporting lacks balance and depth, it discourages fans, scares sponsors, and weakens entire ecosystems. Journalism must remain a tool for development, not destruction,” Adams said.
He called on African sports media to cover all sports beyond football, tell the stories of rising athletes and embrace new media responsibly as partners in building sustainable sports economies.
The Minister concluded by posing hard questions to African governments and institutions about whether the continent is ready to remove mobility barriers, move beyond policy statements to enforceable frameworks and treat sport as a production and export industry.
The congress was opened by Gambian President Adama Barrow and attended by AIPS President Gianni Merlo, sports ministers from Senegal, Mali and Nigeria, and prominent continental sports icons.
Adams was joined on the ministerial panel by Bakary Y. Badjie, Gambia’s Minister for Youth and Sports, Shehu Dikko, Nigeria’s National Sports Commissioner, Abdoul Kassim Ibrahim Fomba, Mali’s Minister for Youth and Sports, and Khady Gaye, Senegal’s Minister for Youth and Sports.
The Sports Writers Association of Ghana was represented at the congress by Charles Osei Asibey, Secretary General of SWAG.
The AIPS Africa Congress aims to bring together sports journalists and key stakeholders from across the continent to deliberate, collaborate and shape the future of sports journalism in Africa.
Adams, who serves as Member of Parliament for Buem constituency, was appointed Ghana’s first Minister for Sports and Recreation by President John Dramani Mahama and sworn into office in February 2025.
He previously laid the Sports Development Fund Bill before Parliament in December 2025, marking a major milestone in Ghana’s effort to sustainably finance sports development across all disciplines.
The Minister had earlier made a strong policy call for economic transformation of African football at the African Football Business Summit held in Mombasa, Kenya, in October 2025.
AIPS has played a pivotal role over the years in protecting the rights of sports journalists, promoting professionalism and ethical standards, and building capacity through training, advocacy and networking opportunities.
Ghana previously hosted the sixth AIPS Africa Congress in Accra, reaffirming the country’s commitment to the growth of sports journalism on the continent.
