The Deputy Chief of Staff, Logistics at the General Headquarters of the Ghana Armed Forces, and leader of medal day delegation to Lebanon, Maj Gen Joseph Prince  Osei-Owusu has commissioned a 40-31 Multipurpose Sports Complex at the Ghana Battalion (GHANBATT) serving with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) Headquarters (HQ), 5-66 on Thursday, 13 July 2023.

The facility, christened Ali Samih Jaafar Multipurpose Court was financed and built by the Honorary Consul of Ghana to Lebanon, HE Ali Samih Jaafar. The sports complex which boasts of volleyball, basketball, handball, and long tennis courts was constructed as a recreational facility for the welfare of troops.

In his opening remarks, the Commanding Officer of the Battalion, Lt Col John Yaw Kwarteng indicated that Battalions over the years operated in a stressful environment without a recreational facility which denied them of an enabling environment to improve their health and fitness. He acknowledged the sponsor, HE Ali Samih Jaafar for the resources that made the multipurpose complex dream a reality, assuring that the facility will be well maintained to become a wonderful asset not only for GHANBATT 89 but also for successive Battalions.

On his part, HE Ali Samih Jaafar said it was extremely important for troops to have such project at their disposal to help them keep fit for their daily activities. He added that he was motivated to sponsor the project after he visited the previous Battalion, GHANBATT 88 and as part of their problems, realized the need for such an edifice to augment the already existing facilities. He noted that the project was in fulfilment of an earlier promise to provide the Battalion with a suitable facility to help in their operations.

Commissioning the facility, Maj Gen Joseph Prince Osei-Owusu thanked the Honorary Consul for his commitment to honouring a promise made a year ago and delivering such an all-important project for the Battalion. He emphasized that the project would serve as a relief to subsequent Battalions in their operations and charged troops to ensure strict maintenance culture to prolong the lifespan of the facility.

The commissioning was climaxed with a competition between the Headquarters Company (HQ Coy) and Charlie Company (C Coy), where spectators were treated with exciting sportsmanship in accurate spanks and servers in the Volley competition finals.

Prior to the competition, a 3-day Inter-company sports competition was organized for the various companies of the Battalion at the Battalion Headquarters from Thursday, 22 to Saturday, 24 June 2023. The gender strong competition saw both males and females from the companies competing together to promote gender balance. This saw HQ Coy and C Coys emerging as finalists for the volleyball competition. At the end of the competition, C Coy emerged the ultimate winners of the competition, receiving the ultimate prize and bragging rights.