The Ghana Prison Service is set to organize its mid-year Sports Festival, with preliminary zonal competitions underway across the country ahead of the main event.
In the Upper East Region, prison stations have been placed in Group I, made up of Navrongo Central Prison and Bawku Local Prison.
As part of efforts to build strong and competitive teams for the festival, the Regional Sports In-Charge, with the approval of the Regional Commander, has initiated a series of friendly matches to assess and strengthen the teams across various sporting disciplines.
So far, the Upper East Regional soccer team has played two preparatory matches, drawing both encounters. The team first drew with the New Second Class Officers and later recorded a 1–1 draw against the Prison Officers Assistants (POs).
Speaking after the match between the Prison team and the Prison Officers Assistants, which ended in a 1–1 draw at the Navrongo COS Park on Tuesday, February 3, 2026, the Upper East Regional Commander of the Ghana Prison Service, Deputy Director of Prisons (DDP) Augustine Bopam, said he was yet to officially meet the players to familiarize himself with them individually.
“I am yet to meet the teams to know the players individually,” he stated.
DDP Bopam noted that the teams currently lack adequate training and emphasized the need for structured preparation ahead of the zonal competitions. He therefore tasked the Sports In-Charge and the various coaches to develop comprehensive training plans to improve performance.
“The teams lack adequate training, so I will task the Sports In-Charge and coaches to prepare a training plan. I will be present at the training grounds,” he assured.
Meanwhile, the volleyball encounter scheduled as part of the preparatory matches ended in a 1–1 set draw, as the game was cut short due to time constraints.
The ongoing friendly matches form part of broader efforts by the Upper East Regional Command to ensure the prisons teams are well-prepared and competitive as they seek success at the zonal level and ultimately at the Ghana Prison Service Sports Festival.
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