Ghana

The former world-record holder will be in Ghana until March 7.

During the trip he will meet and speak with local athletes, pay a courtesy call on the President of the Republic at the Jubilee House and also engage the Ministry of Youth and Sports, the Ghana Olympic Committee and the LOC (Local Organizing Committee) of the African Games Accra 2023 as well as the Ghana Athletics Association on how best Ghana sports can benefit from his huge image on the international sports arena.

Hundreds turned out to see the sprint legend in person as the Ghanaian media lined up for interviews with the now-retired Jamaican Olympian to hear what he and the Ghanaian Olympic Committee (GOC) headed by President Ben Nunoo Mensah, had in store for the athletic community in Ghana.

“The welcome I received upon landing yesterday was truly amazing, the warmth, the music, the dancing and the hospitality was beyond fantastic,” Powell said on Tuesday.

“I feel like I am in my home away from home.”

Powell’s wife Alyshia Powell, who was born and raised in Ghana, was excited to be able to share her homeland, culture and family with her world-famous husband.

Powell began the second day of Ghanaian trip with a visit to Ghana's Youth & Sports Minister, the Honourable Mustapha Ussif.  He and his wife also visited Black Star Square as well as The Ghanaian House of Parliament.

On Wednesday, Powell is scheduled to visit the residence of the late footballer Christian Atsu. While there, he will sign the condolence book for the Ghanaian footballer who perished during the recent earthquake in Turkey that claimed the lives of more than 40,000 people.

He is also scheduled for a media session hosted by the Ghana Olympic Committee at the Accra City Hotel.

On Thursday, Powell and his wife head to the Cape Coast to visit the school she attended as a child as well as to trace his ancestral roots. He will meet some of Alyshia’s family as well as the Chief of Cape Coast.

GOC President Nunoo Mensah thanked corporate Ghana for their swift response in supporting the visit and embracing Powell as their own.

According to a letter to Grange signed by Chairman of the Jamaica College Board of Management, Lance Hylton, ISSA has reportedly refused to permit the two athletes - Evans Tetteh and Dominic Amponsah, who are both from Ghana -because of what it says is an “influx” of foreign athletes into Jamaican high schools.

“We believe that the action taken by ISSA is unfair and inconsistent with ISSA’s own rules and could have negative repercussions on Jamaican athletes seeking similar scholarships to overseas schools,” Hylton's letter stated.

“We are kindly seeking your intervention and mediation into this matter. We look forward to your positive response," he added.

Jamaica College, who have won the boys’ title 22 times, placed second at last year’s Championships, behind Kingston College, the winningest school with 34 titles.