She said it was imperative for people who had passion for sports to sacrifice everything to reach on the top and achieve their dreams, however, one must not compromise his or her academic work.

The DCE made the call in a speech read for her by Mr. Jimba Mohammed Ibrahim, the Nabdam District Coordinating Director at the opening ceremony of the Inter-Schools Sports Festival, held at Kongo Senior High School in the Nabdam District of the Upper East Region.

The sixth edition of the Central Zone sporting activities, in which Madam Anamoo personally donated a bull worth GH¢2,100.00 to support in the organization processes, brought together nine senior high schools to compete in various sporting activities.

The schools included Kongo SHS, Bolgatanga SHS, Bolgatanga Girls’ SHS, Zorko SHS, Bolgatanga Technical Institute, Zamse Senior High/Technical, Zuarungu SHS, Bongo SHS, and Gowrie SHS.

The biennial weeklong event would witness the various participating schools competing in various sporting disciplines including football, volleyball, handball, hockey, table tennis, basketball and athletics among others.

The DCE explained that sports men and women were currently the most successful and recognized persons in the world and said however that the pursuit for sports should not make one to neglect his or her academic work.

She said the youth particularly, the students who had passion for sports must learn to become experts in a balancing act between sports and academic work and added that this would not only help to improve one’s game, but would enable one to achieve great things in more than one area.

The DCE said “while we patronize sporting activities, we should not forget about books. Please, this has been justified by recent events. An international footballer, His Excellency George Oppong Weah, who combined football with studies has become the President of Liberia, while his name still remains in the archives of sports. You should therefore dedicate your time to both studies and sports to be multiple gainers.”

Madam Anamoo, advised the students to hold the virtues of discipline, dedication, adherence to rules and regulations, as well as respect for authorities and parents to enable them get the needed assistance to achieve their aspirations.

She cautioned the students to use the opportunity to network to improve their performance in both sports and academic work instead of indulging in social vices which had the tendency to derail their future and truncate their dreams.

Madam Patricia Agoteba Anaba, the Headmistress for Kongo SHS and host of the competitions in her welcome address indicated that sporting activities were very essential ingredients in propelling effective academic work.

She said physical exercise was not only significant to keeping the body and mind fresh but it helps to keep the brain active at all times for effective teaching and learning, and therefore, encouraged students who had passion for sports to pursue their career with dedication while paying attention to their studies.

The event further brought together some heads of the participating schools and Mr Salifu Zida, the Upper East Regional Chairman of the Ghana Football Association (GFA).