The 47th edition of the Sports Writers Association of Ghana (SWAG) Awards will take place on Saturday, January 28, 2023 in Accra.
The awards gala, which is organized in collaboration with telecommunication network, MTN, is held annually to honour distinguished Ghanaian sportsmen and sportswomen, and over 40 athletes who excelled and brought honours to the country. It also recognises the contribution of individuals and organisations that contribute positively to the development and promotion of Ghana’s sports.
This year’s SWAG Awards will take place at the Accra International Conference Centre (AICC) to honour the sportsmen and women who did great and excelled in their various sporting disciplines in the year 2022.
Mohammed Kudus, Joseph Paul Amoah and Abraham Mensah have been shortlisted for the 47th MTN Sports Writers Association of Ghana (SWAG) Sports Personality of the Year award.
Kudus did exploit with his club side, Ajax and the Black Stars of Ghana, as he topped the charts as one of the fastest-growing young footballers in the world.
In athletics, Joseph Paul Amoah won Ghana’s medal in the 200-meter race at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, the first by the country since George Daniels did in 1974.
The national 200-meter record holder lifted the Ghanaian flag high as he took home bronze for West Africa in a time of 20.49s, becoming the first African to do so since 2006.
VEEP Supports SWAG With GH¢50,000
Meanwhile, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, the Vice President of Ghana, donated GH¢50,000 to the Sports Writers Association of Ghana (SWAG), to support the 47th edition of the association’s awards.
An aide to the Vice President, Mr.Tamimu Issah, presented the amount to the President of SWAG, Mr Kwabena Yeboah, and Secretary General, Charles Osei Asibey last week.
Out of the total amount, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia donated GH¢10,000 each to winners of two award categories; the Female Footballer of the Year and the Sports Journalist of the Year, with the remaining 30,000 to aid the SWAG in its organisation.
Last year, the Vice President supported the 46th SWAG Awards with GH¢50,000 and similarly, presented GH¢10,000 each to the Female Footballer of the Year and the Sports Journalist of the Year.
Speaking at the 46th SWAG Awards as the Special Guest, Vice President Bawumia explained that his financial support towards the two special award categories, was to encourage female footballers. On the Sports Journalist of the Year, the Vice President explained that his support was to encourage sports journalists to continue to make meaningful contributions to the development of sports in the country.
The President of SWAG, Kwabena Yeboah, expressed the Association’s gratitude to Dr Bawumia for his support.
The Vice President has often earned plaudits for his benevolent support to sports organisations, with beneficiaries including RTU, King Faisal, Hasaacas Ladies, Ampem Darkoa Ladies and SWAG.
The annual Awards night was the brainchild of Mr. B.B. Bismark, a keen sports enthusiast and one-time Team Manager of the Black Stars who later became a SWAG Patron and later enstooled Aburihene. Mr. Bismark mooted the idea of an annual Awards night at an informal meeting with the Secretary, Eugene Thompson, and Mr. Ken Bediako, then of the Daily Graphic at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich.
Over a long period, the Banquet Hall and State House remained the home for the annual dinner dance event until 2017, where the Accra International Conference Centre (AICC) has been the venue because of the international convention for sports awards.
