The President of the Ghana Taekwondo Federation (GTF), Frederick Otu Lartey, is seeking re-election as he looks to continue reforms aimed at expanding grassroots participation and strengthening Ghana’s presence in international taekwondo competitions.
Mr Otu Lartey, who has led the federation for several years, says his decision to contest the upcoming elective congress scheduled for July 18, 2026, is anchored on the need to sustain ongoing development programmes and deepen structural reforms within the sport.
He noted that his primary focus remains grassroots expansion, with plans to ensure that all regions are actively developed to feed athletes into national and international competitions.
“My vision is grassroots development… I want to ensure all regions are developed to represent the nation in international competitions,” he said.
Under his leadership, the federation has rolled out a series of initiatives aimed at widening participation and improving technical capacity across the country. These include awareness campaigns in all regions and efforts to recruit development coaches to strengthen talent identification at the community level.
A key component of the strategy is a National Licence Coaching Course designed to train 40 unlicensed coaches from the ten regional associations. The programme is expected to raise coaching standards and build a stronger pipeline of athletes from the grassroots.
The GTF also recently held a leadership retreat where stakeholders developed strategies to expand taekwondo’s reach nationwide, particularly in underserved communities.
Mr Otu Lartey said constitutional reforms have also been introduced to integrate regional associations more fully into the federation’s decision-making structure, describing the changes as part of efforts to improve transparency and inclusiveness.
Beyond domestic development, he pointed to Ghana’s growing international profile in taekwondo as evidence of progress under his tenure. He highlighted his achievement as Ghana’s first World Taekwondo 1st Class International Referee in 2017, as well as his role officiating at global competitions, including world championships and Olympic qualifiers.
He currently serves as Second Vice President of the Ghana Olympic Committee, a position he retained unopposed in April 2025.
As the GTF prepares for its elective congress, stakeholders are expected to choose new leadership to steer the next phase of the sport’s development, with attention focused on whether continuity or change will define the federation’s future direction.
