Director General of the National Sports Authority (NSA), Professor Peter Twumasi, says his institution will not reject any approaches to name a sporting facility after the late Brazil great, Pele.
As part of efforts to celebrate Pele, who died after battling with illness, FIFA President, Gianni Infantino hinted member associations will be asked to name a stadium in honour of the Brazilian.
Shortly after the news went viral, Cape Verde are the first association to act on the words of Infantino as they named a national stadium after Pele.
Prof Twumasi has suggested the NSA is open to all forms of conversation to get a national sporting facility named after one of football’s greatest ever.
“The call by Infantino for nations to name a stadium in recognition of the football king, Pelé, is something many nations always do to honour their hero. For me, it is a good motivation for young players who aspire to reach the pinnacle of football and also serves as a magnet to unite people around the world.
“There are procedures to be followed in the renaming of the stadium and as we did with the Baba Yara Sports Stadium in Kumasi, and we are willing to engage appropriate stakeholders to make this happen, especially given the vast number of unnamed new sporting facilities in the country,” he told GNA.
The procedures for naming our athletic facilities after several national icons who helped shape different sports disciplines have even been initiated, according to Professor Twumasi.
“There are talks ongoing about naming some facilities after some heroes and institutions that have contributed to the development of sports. There are numerous proposals with the Ministry of Youth and Sports to make this happen, and hopefully, it can be done in the near future,” he added.