The 28th edition of the Ghana Universities Sports Association (GUSA) Games is set to begin on January 3, 2025, at the University of Cape Coast (UCC).
Ahead of the event, Henry Nii Sackey, Head Coach of the University of Ghana’s volleyball team, has expressed confidence as his team prepares for the tournament.
In an exclusive interview with Univers Sports’ Petras Anaab Ali, Coach Nii Sackey emphasised that his team “will raise the image of the University of Ghana high” in the upcoming games.
“Over the years, we’ve been training, and the team is battle-ready to go to GUSA, perform well, and raise the image of the University of Ghana,” he said.
In 2020, the UG volleyball team won gold when they hosted the tournament. In 2022, at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), the team won bronze. However, Coach Nii Sackey is optimistic that his side will clinch two gold medals in both the men’s and women’s volleyball events, using their recent success at the Federation of Africa University Sports (FASU) Games as a benchmark.
“We have an agenda: double gold, male and female. You are aware of the team’s exploits in Nigeria at the FASU Games. We are now continental champions, so I don’t think we can lose that title to a local team. We’re going into battle with our heads held high, and we will claim the gold that we deserve. We are prepared for it, and we hope everything goes well—that is the ultimate goal,” he stated.
Coach Nii Sackey also highlighted a major challenge facing the team: due to the festive season, other volleyball teams are on break, preventing them from playing friendly matches to assess their performance.
“It’s quite difficult to set up matches because many of the clubs are on break. I’m trying to arrange games with some clubs starting next Monday [December 30, 2024], and if that doesn’t work, we will call on alumni to come and play with us. Playing against an external team would add value to my team, as it would allow us to identify and address any weaknesses. But if we can’t, we’ll still do our best to perform well [in GUSA],” he explained.
Sixteen universities are expected to compete in the 2024 GUSA Games.
–
Story by: Gabriel Tecco Mensah | univers.ug.edu.gh
