Amputee footballers in Ghana have received the green light by an Accra High Court to participate in the upcoming Amputee World Cup in Turkey despite impending battles in court.
This follows an order from an Accra High Court, 'Commercial Court 6' on Monday to the Minister and Ministry of Youth and Sports to liaise with the National Paralympic Committee (NPC)-Ghana to prepare Ghana's Amputee football team to participate in the World Cup in Turkey.
The court maintained that the case should not affect the players' participation and for that matter the country at large.
The sector Ministry was therefore mandated to take steps to facilitate Ghana's participation in the Amputee World Cup.
The fracas was occasioned by a Ghana Amputee Football Federation (GAFF) suit against the National Paralympic Committee (NPC)-Ghana and the National Sports Authority (NSA) over who the original administrators of the sport are.
In view of that, the World Amputee Football Federation (WAFF) excluded Ghana from participating in the World Cup despite winning the Amputee Cup of Nations held in Tanzania in 2021.
The WAFF decision was to allow Ghana sort out their issues and return as one body.
The NPC-Ghana, however, thought the decision was harsh and hence petitioned WAFF to rescind it to allow Ghana to participate in the World Cup.
The NPC also felt the decision was unfair and would destroy the sport in the country in the long term.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
In court, the NPC argued that there were plans to include amputee football in the upcoming African Para Games in 2023 and their exclusion from the global showpiece was in bad taste and would serve no good purpose for the sport in Ghana.
It later became apparent that the only way WAFF would consider allowing Ghana's participation was when a court of competent jurisdiction gives a go ahead to participate while the issue was in court.
In an interview with the Times Sports, NPC-Ghana President, Mr Samson Deen pledged the NPC's support for the Ghana team to participate in the competition.
"We are pleased with the development and would collaborate with the Ministry to come out with a plan to prepare the athletes for the competition," he stated.
He also assured the public that, all issues would soon become a thing of the past and Paralympic Sports would see a united front.
