THE GHANAIAN Olympic team will be spending three weeks in Plymouth completing their final training before moving to the London Olympic Village, writes Rebecca Ricks.

Members of the Plymouth Ghana Link said they were "delighted" and that the news was "fantastic".

The team, who will move into the new Olympic village on July 16, are expected to arrive in the city for the landmark visit towards the end of June.

Peter Reid, Link Secretary, said: "It is absolutely fantastic news. The idea came about at a Link meeting a couple of years ago. Someone suggested we should invite them and we sent the Ghana President of the Olympic Committee, Professor Francis Dodoo, a formal invitation from Plymouth City Council.

"Everybody is delighted and very excited. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity."

A total of 40 people are expected to come to Plymouth, around 25 of whom will be competitors and 15 trainers and support staff.

The team are hoping to qualify and then compete in five sports including; boxing, judo, athletics, weight lifting and taekwondo.

Vice Chair of the Link, Nii Tackie-Yaoboi, who has taught mathematics in Ivybridge and Newton Abbot, said: "It's a big, big thing, a lot of people have worked very hard to get this stage."

Mr Tackie-Yaoboi, who is originally from Ghana, added: "To be able get people from different cultures together and to learn from each other is just fantastic."

Plymouth High School for Girls have forged a great connection with the town of Sekondi Takoradi since the Link was set up in 2003.

Mary Utton, Headteacher at PHSG, said: "I think this is an excellent opportunity to have the Ghana Olympic team placed in Plymouth because it can only help us enhance the link between two great schools.

"I'm delighted that Plymouth High is connected with Ahantaman Senior High School in Ghana. The link has been in place for 10 years next year and therefore has had time to grow. There have been several great opportunities to exchange through education to find out about each others cultures and to gain a much better understanding of one another. I'm very proud of all we have achieved."

In July last year a number of sixth formers visited Sekondi Takoradi for a 10-day trip to boost cultural understanding between the UK and Africa.

Year 13 student, 17-year-old Libbie Renyard, was one of those to go on the trip. She said: "I think it's quite a big feat to have the Olympic team come to Plymouth. It's great we have the opportunity to just meet them – it's not often you actually get to know an Olympic team personally."

After two months of looking at other venues, including Loughborough and Manchester, the Ghana Olympic Committee decided that the city's ties with Ghana and the excellent facilities here best suited their needs.

Their stay was largely organised by the Plymouth Ghana Link and has been supported by the Culture, Sport and Leisure Department of Plymouth City Council.

It has not yet been decided where the team will stay or visit during their trip but it is hoped they will have some involvement within the community and local schools.

Mr Reid added: "Plymouth has the Life Centre which will be open, Plymouth YMCA, UCP Marjon and Brickfields – the most important thing for them is that they have good facilities and to train."

Members of the link said they hope the residents of Plymouth will learn the saying "akwaaba" which means welcome in Ghanaian.

IT Manager at PHSG Cletus Moisob, who was born in Ghana, has been monitoring the progress of the Ghana team.

He said: "They are getting their training up. The athletics team are training very hard and they also have a competition in April. It's a once in a life time, we never know when we have the Olympics again."