The Director General of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service, DCOP Lydia Donkor, has warned that criminal networks are exploiting young athletes’ ambitions by using false offers of football contracts, international trials and overseas scholarships to traffic them.
Speaking at a training programme on “Addressing Human Trafficking in Sports in Ghana”, she said every young athlete deserved the chance to pursue a sporting career without being exposed to exploitation.
The programme was supported by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection. It aimed to improve officers’ ability to identify, investigate and prevent human trafficking.
DCOP Donkor urged parents, coaches, football academies, sports administrators and young athletes to treat offers of international opportunities with caution and to verify them thoroughly.
“Promises of international contracts, scholarships, and professional opportunities must be carefully verified. No young person should lose their freedom, dignity, or future while pursuing a sporting dream,” she said.
She said the CID was committed to using intelligence-led investigations to disrupt trafficking operations, protect victims and work with sporting institutions and international partners to identify and dismantle criminal networks.
“Sports should remain a pathway to opportunity, discipline, and national pride,” she said.
“As we strengthen Ghana’s fight against human trafficking, our responsibility is to ensure that young talents are protected from exploitation and given the opportunity to pursue their dreams safely.
“Let us protect their dreams, safeguard their future, and ensure that no child becomes a victim of trafficking in the name of sports,” she added.
