The National Football League (NFL) held its first fan zone event in Accra, Ghana at the Kempinski Hotel on Sunday, 26th June as it expands its reach to scout and recruit talent across the African continent.
In the prelude to the event, the NFL had held its first talent scouting camp in Accra.
The NFL’s International Chief Operating Officer Damani Leech said that the league would like to host events in Nigeria and South Africa, among other countries, in the future because of the potential the league sees to “grow and develop” the game.
Current and former players like Osi Umenyiora, Ogbonnia Okoronkwo, Uchenna Nwosu, Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, Kwity Paye, Roman Oben, and Mathias Kiwanuka were in town to help with event planning and meet with fans.
The NFL team held a two-day event prior to the fan zone event where they trained sports teachers and students from 10 schools in Accra on the concept of “flag football”, a version of the NFL game which does not involve physical tackles.
Afia Law, NFL’s head of community and grassroots development said the program encourages Ghanaian kids to play the sport, both locally and abroad.
“From here, those schools are going to go away and deliver flag (football) and build towards a tournament in November,” Law said. “So, we’ll hold our first ever Accra flag football championships, and within that, a team from those schools will be selected to represent Ghana at the Pro Bowl in an international division in 2023.”
Ghana’s vice president, Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia, who was in attendance at the Fan Zone event on Sunday, lauded the initiative and pledged the government’s support to help the NFL to grow in Ghana.
The Fan Zone event was for fans of the sport and the media to get more acquainted with the NFL sport and talk to the NFL team about future engagements.
The event included various activities including a vertical and broad jump section, a video game set up for Madden 22, a case display for Superbowl rings, the Vince Lombardi Trophy, a Quarterback Toss, and a 40-Yard Dash space. The Fan Zone event was hosted by former NFL player Maurice Jones-Drew.
Interview Quotes credited to VOA
