Ghana Badminton Association Signs MOU with Special Olympics Ghana to Open Sport to Athletes with Disabilities

The Ghana Badminton Association (GBA) and Special Olympics Ghana have signed a Memorandum of Understanding establishing a formal partnership to nurture badminton talent among players with disabilities, marking the sport’s entry into the Special Olympics movement’s growing portfolio of disciplines in the country.

The signing ceremony brought together senior figures from both organizations and the sports fraternity. In attendance were Mr. Evans Yeboah, President of the Ghana Badminton Association; Dr. Ebenezer Owusu, Board Chairman of Special Olympics Ghana; Alhaji Kamal Sulley of the Rowing and Canoeing Federation; and other dignitaries invited to witness the agreement.

Speaking at the event, Dr. Owusu affirmed Special Olympics Ghana’s mission to empower children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities through sport.

He disclosed that badminton is the organization’s newest addition, joining existing programs in football, athletics, and table tennis as part of a broadening slate of opportunities for athletes with disabilities.

This collaboration will help us reach persons of all genders living with disabilities across the country.” Mr. Evans Yeboah, President, Ghana Badminton Association

Outlining what the partnership will deliver, Mr. Yeboah pointed to a structured coaching pipeline at the heart of the agreement: teachers will be trained to instruct badminton to individuals with disabilities and certified through formal coaching courses. He added that the initiative would extend to technical education for young players, with an eye toward eventually assembling a national team.

Mr. Yeboah praised Special Olympics Ghana for the collaboration, noting that it positions the Ghana Badminton Association to widen its outreach and ensure the sport is accessible to persons of all genders living with disabilities.

Signed During the Global Week of Inclusion

The agreement lands in the middle of the 2026 Global Week of Inclusion, a five-day observance running from July 20 to July 24 that Special Olympics Ghana is marking alongside the wider global movement. The week was officially launched at the forecourt of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly, with the red ribbon serving as its symbol.

The red ribbon is the official symbol of the 2026 Global Week of Inclusion, observed globally from July 20–24 to champion the rights of persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

At the launch, Special Olympics officials emphasized that inclusion is everyone’s business, calling for a collective commitment to ensuring that no child is left behind particularly children with intellectual and developmental disabilities. They stressed that such children deserve respect and equal opportunity in education, healthcare, accommodation, employment, and sports.

Set against that backdrop, the Ghana Badminton Association’s new partnership with Special Olympics Ghana stands as a concrete step toward the week’s central message, that access to sport, coaching, and competitive opportunity should extend fully to athletes with intellectual and developmental disabilities.