Rolling the pitch


For me, the African Cup of Nations has been a dream come true. Hosting the tournament has made a positive difference, not just to myself, but the whole nation. Prior to the tournament I spent a year teaching people the rudiments of groundsmanship skills and the science behind the cultural practices. Not having specialised machinery such as aerators and scarifiers has meant all these cultural practices are done by hand. We had to ensure the operatives understood what we were trying to achieve.


Even the simple task of scarifying was done by hand using springbok rakes. I’d show the guys how to do an area and a few days later, it was easy to show them what a difference such a simple operation had achieved. All this training


We need to convince European companies to come to Africa to help us


equipment and services to continue the improvement of sports facilities across the continent. We need to develop Africa for sport


Bore holes were drilled for irrigation


brought home to me how much we take for granted in the UK, but also how much we have learned over the years. Now the pitches are here, I am looking for a number of European manufacturers to get involved in supplying cylinder mowers and sports turf equipment. We need to convince European companies to come to Africa and help us by supplying


like we did in Europe in the 70s. The Ghanaian government had a dream and it has become a reality by hosting the African Cup of Nations. As well as more equipment and


products we need to invest in more training and I will look at training providers to help move this forward. I have now set up Green Grass


Technology (GGT), the first pitch construction and maintenance company in Ghana and, during the last twelve months, we have employed over 600 people in this great venture.


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