The Ghana Taekwondo Federation (GTF) has launched a nationwide awareness campaign designed to introduce the sport to schools and communities across five regions, beginning with an event in Kumasi that drew roughly 500 pupils from ten private schools in the Ashanti Region.
The programme is intended to widen access to Taekwondo among young Ghanaians, support early talent identification and position the sport as a vehicle for discipline, physical fitness, self-defence and personal confidence.
Speaking at the launch, GTF President Frederick Lartey Otu said the initiative signals a deliberate shift in the Federation’s approach to developing young people through the sport.
“The future of Taekwondo in Ghana lies not only in producing champions, but also in producing disciplined, responsible and confident young people.”Frederick Lartey Otu, President, Ghana Taekwondo Federation
Lartey Otu explained that the programme is structured to create a pathway for young athletes to progress from school and community-level activity toward regional and, ultimately, national competition, while also encouraging regular physical activity and exposing more young people to the values that underpin the sport. He called for closer collaboration among schools, parents, teachers, coaches, sports authorities and Taekwondo associations to sustain the effort.
This programme requires partnership, commitment and collective responsibility,” he said.
The Executive Director of the Ghana National Council of Private Schools (GNACOPS), Obenfo Nana Kwasi Gyetuah, used the occasion to urge a broader rethink of how sport is positioned within Ghana’s education system, arguing against treating it merely as a co-curricular add-on.
“For too long, we have treated sports as something children do after the real learning is done. Sports teach discipline, focus, respect, resilience, teamwork and leadership. These are not extras. They are the very foundation of the transformed learner Ghana needs.”Obenfo Nana Kwasi Gyetuah, Executive Director, GNACOPS
He noted that Taekwondo in particular combines physical conditioning with discipline, self-control and focus, and called on schools and parents to give sport adequate time, space and institutional support.
“When we change the language, we change the priority,” he added. “When sports become the main curriculum for transformation, we will raise children who are not only academically sound but physically strong, emotionally balanced and morally grounded.”
The Ashanti Regional Director of the National Sports Authority (NSA), Nana Gyaama Dakwa, pledged her outfit’s continued support for grassroots sports development and encouraged more schools across the region to take part in Taekwondo programming.
She pointed to the sport’s dual benefit of building both physical fitness and mental alertness, while equipping children girls in particular with practical self-defence skills.
When the kids know how to defend themselves, especially the ladies, I think it will be of much help to them,” she said.
The launch featured live demonstrations by schoolchildren and Taekwondo practitioners, including Poomsae routines and self-defence techniques. The GTF National Executive Board also used the event to present uniforms and equipment to the Ashanti Regional Taekwondo Association, in support of ongoing training and development efforts in the region.
The event was attended by school proprietors, teachers, parents, coaches, Taekwondo officials, NSA representatives and the Ashanti Regional Director of GNACOPS, Edward Akanzu Ise.