The apex body seeing to the promotion of professional wrestling in the African continent, Pro Wrestling Africa (PWA), in collaboration with the Global Wrestling Federation (GWF), an international professional Wrestling organisation based in Florida, USA founded in 2018 under the auspices of a Dentist/legendary professional wrestler, Dr. James McDowell has officially notified Togo of its choice as host nation of the planned wrestling training programme slated for next year.
In a letter signed by the Secretary General of the wrestling body, Olusesan Olukoya, it said they are seeking the indulgence of the Association Togolese De Catch (ATCATCH) through the Ministry of Sports and Leisure, Lome in Togo to host the five- day training programme that will bring together at least six athletes and two coaches each from the 16 countries of West Africa namely; Benin Republic, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra- Leone and the host nation, Togo.
According to the letter, Togo was chosen because it’s now thriving in sports globally.
“Football is the most popular sport in Togo and the country has enjoyed international success in sports. In the late 1990’s, Togolese enjoyed boxing when Super middleweight, boxer, Zafrou Balloqou was ranked in the world’s top 10 while Yacoubou Moutakilou and Abdoukerin Hamidou also had successes in the ring.
” With the latest plan on ground, we see world pro wrestling champions also emerging from Togo soon which prompted us to consider giving the hosting right to your country”, the statement said.
The letter reminded the government and people of Togo that as host of the training programme, the country is expected to provide a suitable venue where the training will hold and provide a dormitory/hall with foams where athletes can sleep for five days that the training will last.
Take reasonable steps to ensure the health and safety of athletes during the events, promote and market the event to maximize exposure and awareness as well as set up a Local Organizing Committee (LOC) that will manage the planning and delivery of the training as well as help athletes procure low cost food at a centralized location where all the athletes will eat together to build unity and friendship.
On the benefits that will accrue to the country as host of the event, the letter stated that the timely training will bring together upcoming talents and their trainers from the West African nations as that will unify the participants thus promoting mutual understanding.
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Secondly, the consolidated media coverage of the event will attract awareness from neigbouring countries thereby giving tourism a big boost while the image of the host nation will also receive a big boost before, during and after the training, it will also be used as an avenue to further the good governance campaign of the Togo Government on the need to rid the street of idle youths thereby curbing unrest, it will also attract investment to the country as it will witness an upsurge of visitors during the period and also be used as a vehicle to campaign for youth emancipation through which youth and sporting activities can be developed and promoted in order to ensure youth commitment in the integration process of West Africa.
The organisation while stating that the gains of hosting the event cannot be overemphasized, noted that it’s looking forward to a written response from the Togolese authorities on their acceptance of the hosting right.
