VOLLEYBALL: GHANA CROWNED ECOWAS CHAMPS (PAGE 31, JUNE 1, 2010)

The national youth male volleyball team, true to prediction, emerged champions in the four-nation ECOWAS Youth Championship held in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, over the weekend.
The team, virtually made up of players from the Ghana Immigration Service, beat Mali three sets to one in the final match after they trounced Togo by the same scoreline in their first match.
The leader of the contingent, Mr Paul Atchoe, made this known to the Daily Graphic on arrival from Burkina Faso last Sunday.
Mr Atchoe, who is also the Chairman of the Greater Accra Volleyball Association, attributed the success of the team to the final warm-up games the team played in Bolgatanga which exposed the cracks in the team.
Those cracks, he said, were quickly rectified to put the boys in shape for a gold medal-winning performance at the championships.
This is Ghana’s first appearance at the annual ECOWAS Youth Championship, which has been in existence since ECOWAS was established 35 years ago.
Ghana was invited based on its performance in the recent Zone 3 club championship held in Benin where the Police team placed first and the Immigration team placed second in the women and men’s divisions respectively.
Mr. Atchoe expressed the team’s appreciation to Mr Worlanyo K. Agrah, Chief Executive Officer of the National Sports Council (NSC), for making it possible for the team to participate in the championship.
He also thanked the Upper East Regional Police Commander, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Bright Oduro, himself a veteran volleyball player, for hosting the players prior to their departure to Burkina Faso.
He was appreciative of the show of support by the volleyball fraternity in the Upper East Region prior to their departure to Burkina Faso which culminated in victory for the team.