Accra: Ghana is expected to send about 40 athletes to the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, with participation spanning eight sports disciplines, Mr. Richard Akpokavie, President of the Ghana Olympic Committee (GOC), has revealed. Addressing the GOC's Annual General Assembly in Accra, Mr. Akpokavie said the final size of the contingent would depend on pending qualification outcomes, with 21 officials, including coaches, medical staff, safeguarding officers, and a Chef de Mission, to accompany the team.
According to Ghana News Agency, the Games are scheduled to take place from July 23 to August 2, 2026, in a scaled-down format compared with the Birmingham 2022 edition. Ghana would compete in athletics, boxing, cycling, judo, para-athletics, para powerlifting, para swimming, and weightlifting. Mr. Akpokavie expressed confidence that despite the smaller scale of this year's Games, Ghanaian athletes would make the nation proud.
He added that Ghana plans to leverage the event beyond sport through a 'Ghana House' initiative to showcase investment, tourism, and creative arts opportunities on the sidelines of the Games. This concept, expected to be implemented in collaboration with the government, aims to attract partnerships and create jobs for young people.
'We hope to return from Glasgow not only with medals, but also with new partnerships and friendships that will create opportunities and jobs for young people,' said Mr. Akpokavie. Additionally, he called for increased corporate support for Olympic and non-football sports disciplines, highlighting disparities in funding allocation and urging corporate institutions to extend their support beyond football.
'As corporate institutions, it is fair to support football with millions of dollars for World Cup campaigns, but I respectfully ask that support also be extended to the GOC and other sports,' he said, emphasizing the wider social impact broader investment across sports could have, especially for young people whose interests extend beyond football.