President of the Ghana Olympic Committee (GOC) Ben Nunoo-Mensah has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Mayor of Inawashiro Town Hiroshi Zenga to get access to free training facilities prior to the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.

Nunoo-Mensah visited Inawashiro Town while attending the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA) meeting in Japan.

He signed the MoU  with Zenga which would allow Ghana exclusively to train in the facilities at the Inawashiro Town General Gymnasium for free in the run up to Tokyo 2020. 

The facilities include ten badminton courts, two basketball courts, three volleyball courts, fifty table tennis tables, two judo areas, a boxing ring, an athletics oval and other facilities for swimming, weight lifting and other disciplines.

An interpreter, transportation bus, medical facilities and free accommodation for at least 30 athletes will also be provided, which should be more than adequate as Ghana sent only 16 athletes in five sports to the last Summer Olympics at Rio 2016. 

There have been cultural exchanges between Ghana and Inawashiro Town, in the centre of Fukushima prefecture, since 1993, when former Ghanaian President Jerry Rawlings first visited the area.

Ghana made its debut in the Olympic Games under their colonial name Gold Coast at Helsink 1952.

They first appeared as Ghana at Rome 1960 where boxer Clement Quartey won a light welterweight silver medal.

There were bronze medals for two other boxers, Eddie Blay at Tokyo 1964, also in the light welterweight division, and Prince Amartey as a middleweight at Munich 1972.

A men’s football bronze was the last Olympic medal won by Ghana at Barcelona 1992.

Ghana came nowhere near a medal at Rio 2016.

Javelin thrower John Ampomah achieved their best result of 19th in qualifying.