Ghanaian kickboxing referee Derrick Maccaire has revealed that kickboxing was first introduced in Ghana by some Japanese and Korean nationals.
According to him, these individuals later left the country, after which some Ghanaians took it upon themselves to continue developing the sport, eventually establishing a federation around 2008/2009.
In an interview with Benjamin Sackey on Sports Check, Maccaire noted that the biggest challenge facing the federation has been a lack of funding.
“Kickboxing has been in Ghana since 2008–2009. During that time, the Japanese and Koreans came to help build the sport. But after some time, they left. Since then, the association has been trying to keep it going, but it’s difficult to get corporate sponsorship these days. So, if they’re now going to come in and support, we’ll be grateful, because it’s very difficult,” he said.
The referee also shed light on how the federation operates in terms of organising amateur fights and handling other responsibilities.
“The association primarily manages amateur events. The professional events are not organised by the association but are sanctioned by it. We have private promoters who come in, and when they do, they approach the association. We sanction the event, and then they host it, just like in boxing,” he explained.
Meanwhile, watch as Derrick Maccaire opens up on challenges in kickboxing, MMA in Ghana
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