Theodosia Okoh 'annoyed' over hockey stadium renaming

Mrs Theodosia Okoh

National hockey star, Mrs Theodosia Okoh has spoken vehemently against the re-naming of the hockey stadium in Accra after the late President John Evans Atta Mills.

According her, the name change was not right and that it has 'annoyed' her greatly.

“It is annoying me at the moment. When I was lobbying for the construction of the pitch he was then in class three. When I have gone ahead to do something which can be named after me when I pass on, now you say you want to name it after him because he has taken lead (dead). Is that how it is done?”, Mrs Okoh who spoke in the Fante language told Accra-based Peace FM, Thursday morning.

The 91-year-old is a hockey star who once chaired the National Hockey Association and also designed the Ghana national flag.

She was instrumental in securing the present site for the hockey stadium at a time the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) tried to take over the land for an expanded lorry station.

The hockey stadium had already been named after the octagenarian who currently lives at Kanda in Accra for her contribution to the sport.

Surprisingly, the AMA through its chief Executive on Tuesday announced it had renamed the stadium after late President Mills as part of the celebration of the first anniversary of his death.

A number of people including retired sports journalist and former Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports, Mr
Joe Aggrey have described the AMA's move as illegal and dishonourable.

They argue it was not right as the stadium had already been named and that changing the name was disrespectful to the illustrious woman who is still alive.

Expressing her sentiments Mrs Okoh told Peace FM the latest development has “annoyed” her.
Announcing the name swap, Mr Alfred Okoe Vanderpuije said the move was in recognition of President Mills’ achievements in hockey, particularly for ensuring the construction of the stadium just months after assuming power in 2009.

In an earlier interview also on Peace FM, Mr Vanderpuije tried to justify the renaming of the stadium, saying that although the stadium had been named after the late president, the pitch would bear the name of Mrs Okoh.

Asked how that would honour Mrs Okoh, Mr Vanderpuije explained that Sports writers would always be asked to make reference to the pitch as bearing the name of Mrs Okoh when filing match reports.

That, he said would ensure that Mrs Okoh would be remembered for the pitch, whilst President Mills would be remembered for the stadium.

When this was brought to her attention, Mrs Okoh had this to say: “I don’t want it to be named after me. If I wanted it to be named after me, when I went for the land for the construction of the pitch, I would have named it after myself”.

“But you said you are not happy about the fact that it is being named after the late president,” the host asked.

“Would you be happy if it were you? That you have built something for the benefit of the entire country and you hear that it is being named after someone because he is dead? Or they want me to die before they name it after me?” she retorted.

“Would you wish that if they had the chance they change the name?” the host further asked.

“I want them to change it. Is it because he played on the pitch that is why it is being named after him? And they are saying that he contributed to the hockey sport in the country. Where did he contribute; in his hometown or where?  He was not there when I was doing it. He was probably in class one at the time,” Mrs Okoh said.

Mrs. Okoh, a lover of hockey, played a lot of hockey with old Achimotans and held many responsible positions such as the Deputy Chairman for the Hockey Association. Using her position as Chairman of the Hockey Association, she fought to ensure that the only hockey pitch near the Electricity Corporation in Accra was maintained and not replaced by a lorry park.