Newly-elected President of the Armwrestling Federation of Africa (AAF), Mr Charles OseiAsibey, has expressed his commitment to the development of the sport and ensure the continent becomes a global force.
Mr Asibey, who doubles as Vice President of the World Armwrestling Federation (WAF) by virtue of his recent election, promised to make armwrestling a sport of choice on the continent and also make athletes global icons.
"I am committed to ensure armwrestling become a household sport on the continent and other developments as stated in our manifesto," he stated in a press conference in Accra, yesterday.
He expressed appreciation to the government and other stakeholders for their support towards the elections, adding that the sport had become very attractive and urged corporate bodies to come on board and associate with the armwrestling brand.
MrAsibey also commended the national armwrestling team, Golden Arms, for winning an unprecedented 45 medals – including 18 gold at the recently-held African Armwrestling Championship in Nigeria.
"The athletes have been committed to the sport and deserved commendation for the efforts and sacrifices over the years," he stated.
The Golden Arms, he said, over the past four years had won 170 medals in international championships with over 50 per cent of the medals being gold, and hence became a force to reckon with on the continent.
He said despite their efforts, they had not received any form of winning bonuses over the years, a development he described disheartening.
"They travelled by road to Nigeria and made the country proud and deserve to be recognised for their efforts," he stressed.
He said government must pay attention to armwrestling as they would continue to win more medals heading into the African Games next year.
Artmotion S.Africa
