Mr. Mawuko Afadzinu, the President of Ghana Table Tennis Association (GTA) and the Marketing/Communications Manager of Stanbic Bank Ghana Limited has charged sports journalists to demonstrate excellence in their work as they demand from athletes and officials.

Mr. Afadzinu, who is also the President of the Institute of Public Relations (IPR) and former lecturer at the Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ) made this statement at the 3rd Betway/SWAG Sports Journalists Conference held at the Best Western Hotel in Takoradi.

The seminar saw over 60 sports journalists from the Western Region and Western North participating.

Mr. Afadzinu speaking on “The Impact of Media on Sports,” said

sports journalists are the transition between a powerful platform and powerful sentiments.

He indicated that sports journalists bring like-minded people together so the principle of the athlete for success must be the guide for the journalist hence admonishing sports journalists to invest in their craft just like the athlete.

He revealed that the major challenge for the development and promotion of sports in Ghana are innovation and funding.

He challenged Federation heads to be very innovative in creating compelling contents and tapping into the necessary contacts to raise investment for their respective sports.

Mr. Afadzinu said “the confluence of sports and media, an outcome that few can match” hence the need for stakeholder engagements.

On his part, Mr. Michael Oti Adjei, the General Manager-Digital at Media General charged sports journalists to consider major tournaments as major career landmarks and not a time for leisure adding that, sports Journalists should adequately prepare for sports events.

He encouraged sports Journalists to have long-term planning and preparations, research wide before embarking on the coverage of sports events.

Mr. Oti Adjei advised sports Journalists especially the younger ones, to make it a point to dress decently while encouraging them to seek opportunities in education to develop and enhance their career.

He emphasized that marketing your talent as a journalist is a constant job hence there’s no shame in promoting yourself as a journalist.

In his submission, Mr. Kwabena Yeboah apprised sportscasters, particularly the younger ones to concentrate on building a solid and resound brand that would generate huge income in the future, and not necessarily concentrating and focusing solely on money as the reasons for pursuing sports Journalism.

He was of the conviction that, “a resounding brand pays hugely in future” and must be the objective and the priority of the young sports Journalists.

Participants received certificates of participation and other complimentary gifts from Betway and SWAG.