US Baseball Stars to Visit Ghana Next Month

www.ghanaweb.com

Accra, Jan. 22, GNA - A delegation of top US baseball stars are expected to visit the country early next month to promote the sport and also participate in the Ghana@50 celebrations.

The visit, which is under the joint auspices of the Ghana Baseball and Softball Association (GHABSA) and the African Development Foundation (ADF), is under the theme; "Goodwill Tour 2007" and would see top players from the New York Mets and Yankees touring the country from February 2 to February 6, 2007.

Mr. Emmanuel Dogbevi, Media representative of the Ghana Baseball and Softball Association (GHABSA) who briefed the GNA Sports about the visit in Accra on Monday said the Association intends to within the second 50 years to use baseball emulate the successes chalked for the Ghanaian economy through football over the past 50 years. "New York Mets and Yankees are two of the top teams in the US major League Baseball (MLB) and to get top players from these teams visiting Ghana is a vote of confidence in our effort to develop the game in this country," he said.

Mr Dogbevi said the US Embassy was fully behind the vision to make baseball a major sport in Ghana, adding that in the near future, it should be possible for Ghana to export baseball players to the USA and other places like Japan where baseball was fast developing.

As part of the programme for the visit, the stars would make donations of equipment to GHABSA, hold baseball clinics, promote Tee-ball education in schools, inaugurate a Little Baseball League in Ghana, visit the castles and other tourist sites in Accra and Cape Coast.