Ghanaians love football, but some Ghanaians have fallen in love with baseball and they are working hard to develop the game in Ghana. Is that any sign that baseball is likely to outshine football as the next big thing in Ghana sports? For several decades now football has for the most part been the popular sport in Ghana. It has the largest following and gets the biggest chunk of the national budget for sports. Following in the steps of football is boxing, but even then boxing draws attention to itself only when Ghana has a world champion in any weight division. Indeed in Ghana even athletics, which has won more medals for the country than other disciplines and other sports including baseball are called ‘lesser known’ sports. Lesser known because they do not usually draw the crowds and the cash just like football does. It was until 1993 when the Ghana Football Association (GFA) shed off its amateur outlook and turned professional as a result of the famous Winneba Declaration. By this Declaration, football clubs belonging to the GFA were incorporated under the companies Code (Act 193, 1963) as Limited Liability Companies either by shares or guarantee. It has been 14 years and still counting since football was declared professional in Ghana, and yet football in the country has not made the much expected impact in economic terms. Majority of the football teams are hardly run as companies and therefore have not been making profits. They are often cash strapped and sometimes had to turn to the state for help. The expected high financial and economic returns have been elusive. As a result, it is hard to get specific data on how much football contributes to the Ghanaian economy. This is not to say, though, that it has been a hopeless case. But the fact still remains that football has not done for the national economy what it was expected to do when the Premier League was made professional after the Winneba Declaration of 1993. This is where baseball comes in. Baseball is played in several countries of the World. These countries are members of the International Baseball Federation (IBAF), the global federation for baseball associations. But in the United States and Japan, baseball is big business. Baseball players in the United States and Japan earn tens of millions of dollars in income. Businesses and marketing agencies make huge profits on the game, and substantially contribute to the economy of these two countries through merchandises. Baseball caps for instance, are very popular in the US and other parts of the world. Ghana’s baseball governing body, the Ghana Baseball and Softball Association (GHABSA), was formed in 1992 to promote the game in the country. The Association has been working hard since its inception and there have been some considerable achievements. Interest in the game is growing among the youth, who are the target for developing the game in the country. The African Development Foundation (ADF) is doing some work to help the game grow by donating equipment, and bringing baseball coaches and stars from the US to run clinics in the country. The ADF as part of its efforts at promoting baseball in Ghana undertook its First Goodwill Tour to Ghana with support from Major League Baseball, the US Embassy in Ghana, The New York Mets, Delta Airlines, USAID, Little League Baseball and Softball, Spalding, Ministries of Sports and Tourism, Golden Tulip Hotel, Tigo and Irani Brothers. The four day Tour was from February 2 to 5 2007. The delegates included baseball greats Omar Minaya, now a baseball executive and currently the general manager of the New York Mets. Dave Winfield who played Major League Baseball for 22 seasons and is a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame and the College Baseball Hall of Fame. Johnnie “Dusty” Baker started his professional baseball career as an outfielder for the Atlanta Braves in 1968 and after several years of an illustrious professional career he moved on to become an ESPN analyst in 2006. Dave Stewart, who led the Oakland Athletics to the World Series in1989 and won the championship, in the same year he was named World Series Most Valuable Player (MVP). Bob Watson, the MLB's Vice President of Rules & On-Field Operations, in-charge of on-field disciplinary matters, pace of game initiatives, and also oversees ballpark ground rules, measurements, and standards, and Carl “Reggie” Smith, who won the Gold Glove Award in 1968 and is currently a consultant for Major League organizations. Smith also runs annual youth baseball camps in the States. With the right atmosphere for business prevailing in the country now coupled with the commitment of the business community, the keen interest and support of the US Embassy in Ghana, baseball can certainly compete with football in the coming years as the sports of substance in the country. It will also make a huge economic impact on the country as well as develop Ghanaian youths in a positive way if the US and Japan models are thoughtfully replicated here. Already, a Ghanaian youth has begun catching the eyes of scouts in the baseball world. The young man, Daniel Atiemo alias ‘Iron’ was recently taken on training tours to the US and Italy, and he showed great skills and promise. May be he will lead the pack to set baseball in line to make Ghana shine in the sports. Authored by Emmanuel K. Dogbevi