Former Minister of Youth and Sports, Edwin Nii Lante Vanderpuye
Former Minister of Youth and Sports, Edwin Nii Lante Vanderpuye, has recommended the replacement of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s statue at Effia-Nkwanta with that of legendary Ghanaian boxer, Eddie Blay.
According to Vanderpuye, it is important that the story of boxing great Eddie Blay is told for the people of the Western Region to appreciate his greatness.
Speaking on the floor of Parliament, Nii Lante Vanderpuye stated that Eddie Blay has not been given the needed recognition and that building his statue at the center of the Western Regional capital will help.
“I will be happy if, instead of the President’s statue at the Effiankwanta roundabout, we have Eddie Blay’s statue there to tell people from the Western Region that it is not only Ekow Krane who exhibited wonders in boxing, but there was once an Eddie Blay,” he said.
The outgoing Member of Parliament for the Odododiodio constituency also expressed conviction that Ghana could rival the United States of America if the right investment was made into boxing.
He explained that the country is blessed with talented boxers who can win Olympic medals and titles with the right investments.
“Boxing has achieved a lot for us. They’ve raised the flag of this country even more than football, but we don’t give it the attention it deserves,” he said.
“If we could give a percentage of the attention we give to football to boxing and other sporting disciplines, maybe, we will not always be languishing at the last position on the medal table at the Olympic Games.
“We may be squaring it up with the Americans, the British, the Australians, and the Chinese on the medal table. I believe seriously that if we really want to achieve much in sports, we must be ready to invest in the sport.”
Eddie Blay competed at the 1960 and 1964 Olympics and won a bronze medal in the 1964 edition.
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