YEA win Ghana’s Inter-Agency Football Gala 4-2 on penalties

The Youth Employment Agency (YEA) won the Inter-Agency Football Gala after defeating the National Youth Authority (NYA) 4-2 on penalties in the final at the Accra Sports Stadium on Friday.

The tournament was organised by the NYA as part of activities for this year’s National Youth Month celebration. It brought together staff and representatives from several public agencies for a programme focused on sport, interaction and teamwork.

The football final was decided by a shootout, with YEA holding their nerve to claim the title from the host organisation. The victory made the agency champions of the football competition after a closely fought final.

Football was part of a broader day of recreational activities. Participants also took part in sack races, table tennis, oware, cards, ludo, scrabble and lime-and-spoon contests, giving agencies several opportunities to compete outside the main football event.

NYA Deputy Chief Executive Inusah Mahama said the games were included in the authority’s programme for National Youth Month. He said the authority has responsibility for organising the month’s activities and is using the celebrations to bring young people and institutions together through different events.

The football gala followed the National Youth Celebration held at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi. The programme is scheduled to continue with a Youth Parliament on Tuesday and an Intergenerational Dialogue on Thursday, before the celebrations conclude at Independence Square with the National Youth Celebration.

The inter-agency games form part of the NYA’s wider effort to encourage youth engagement, unity and active living. YEA’s penalty victory provided the sporting outcome of the Accra event, while the wider programme used several games to support participation among the agencies involved.