THE second session of the African Union (AU) Sports Ministers Conference opens in Accra this morning with the agenda of formulating a draft policy to reshape sport to make it more beneficial to the continent.

President John Agyekum Kufuor is expected to perform the opening ceremony for the four-day event, which is scheduled for the Accra International Conference Center this morning. All Sports Ministers in Africa and their technical experts are expected to attend the conference, which, in the end, will harmonize the sports framework policy for Africa, as well as bring some cohesion in the policies of the various sub-regional bodies.

The meeting is also expected to work on the report of the restructuring of the Supreme Council for Sports in Africa (SCSA) to be relevant to the new AU. Last Friday, the team of experts met to finalize the agenda for the entire programme. The first session of the conference was held in Ethiopia last year to serve as a catalyst to harmonize the sports structure, policies and programmes on the continent.

Ghana was nominated to host the event after it was also elected as chair of the conference. As part of the programme, a sports exhibition for sports manufacturers, producers and dealers in sports goods and services will be held, while the ministers and the experts will also have a Development Clinic for over 500 children aged between 12 and 16. apart from the Sports Ministers, most of whom arrived over the weekend, Lamine Diack, the President of the International Athletics Associations Federation (IAAF), General Lasana Palenfo, the President of the Association of National Olympics in Africa (ANOCA), and other related agencies from the various sub-regional groupings are expected to attend the conference.

Daily Graphic, Tuesday, October 14, 2008