By: Victoria Kwofie
The Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) on Friday, December 19, held its end-of-year sports games at the LA McDan Park, featuring a football competition between Senior and Junior Officers as well as an impressive armwrestling display by the Service’s Armwrestling Team.
The event was held under the theme “Unity, Fitness and Excellence Through Sports.”
Present at the colourful ceremony were the Comptroller-General of Immigration, Mr. Samuel Basintale Amadu, former Black Stars midfielder Laryea Kingston, President of the Ghana Armwrestling Federation Mr. Charles Osei Asibey, alongside other high-ranking officers, senior and junior staff of the Service.
Activities commenced with an opening football match between the Ghana Immigration Service female team and a selected team of senior officers. The Immigration Ladies emerged victorious with a 2–1 win.
The Comptroller-General, Mr. Basintale Amadu, together with his entourage, performed the ceremonial kickoff ahead of the highly anticipated men’s football clash between the Senior and Junior Officers. This was followed by a special armwrestling engagement where the Comptroller-General demonstrated remarkable strength and skill, defeating the President of the Ghana Armwrestling Federation in a friendly bout.
In the men’s football encounter, CK opened the scoring for the Senior Officers with a stunning volley from the right that flew past the Junior Officers’ goalkeeper. The Junior Officers responded strongly, mounting sustained pressure and eventually equalising through Roger, as the game ended 1–1 at full time.
Before the decisive penalty shootout, the Comptroller-General and his management team engaged in a novelty penalty competition against selected officers, which the Comptroller-General’s side won.
In the final shootout, the Junior Officers broke the long-standing dominance of the Senior Officers, winning 5–3 on penalties to clinch the ultimate trophy.
Individual awards were presented as follows:
Best Coach: Clement Alipoe (Junior Officers)
Best Goalkeeper: Kwabena Acheampong (Senior Officers)
Best Player: Hafiz Saeed (Senior Officers)
Best Defender: Kwame Asare
Speaking at the end of the event, Comptroller-General Mr. Samuel Basintale Amadu expressed appreciation to officers for their participation and urged them to uphold unity and professionalism. He thanked officers for their strong turnout and encouraged them to stay healthy, look out for one another during the festive season, and remain committed to their duties, stressing the importance of protecting and defending Mother Ghana at all times.
