Savannah Region Athletes Stranded In Buipe Over Lack Of Funds

The stranded athletes

 

More than 200 athletes and Physical Education instructors from seven Senior High Schools in the Savannah Region have been left stranded in Buipe after failing to secure the funds required to travel for the 32nd Inter-Regional Senior High School Sports Festival in Sekondi-Takoradi.

The contingent, which has been in camp since November 3, was scheduled to leave on Saturday, November 15.

However, JoyNews reported that not a pesewa of their estimated GH?15,000 budget had been released.

Officials say they have managed to keep the athletes in camp for 12 days with limited support from the Ghana Education Service (GES) and individual schools, but resources have now run out.

“We need GH?15,000 to enable us to participate like the other regions,” one frustrated official told JoyNews. “The camping period is over, and the resources we need to relocate to Takoradi are not forthcoming.”

The 32nd Inter-Regional Sports Festival—organised by the National Schools and Colleges Sports Federation—runs from November 15 to 24, 2025, under the theme “Ghana’s future champions lie in school sports.”

Despite weeks of preparation, officials say appeals to the Savannah Regional Coordinating Council, district assemblies, CEOs, prominent natives, and traditional authorities have all failed.

“Until now, not a single intervention has come from anybody,” another source lamented. “Nobody has even called to ask how Savannah Region is participating. It’s a shame to us as a region.”

There are fears that without immediate financial support, the athletes will be sent back to their various schools across districts such as Bole and Salaga—effectively ending Savannah Region’s participation in this year’s competition.

The stranded athletes and officials are appealing to individuals, institutions, and philanthropists—both from within and outside the region—to urgently assist so they can travel and represent Savannah Region at the national event in Sekondi.

BY Wletsu Ransford

Read Full Story