The first thing that anyone who has ever come across da Vinci’s art, the Vitruvian Man, will notice is the way he is able to showcase how the human form embodies the principals of architecture at its peak of perfection. In that art, Da Vinci reveals that the body and its abilities are just as vital to intelligence as is the mind. 

This is perhaps, the driving force behind the establishment of the UDS Sports Directorate – to showcase athletic intelligence alongside academic victories. And the evidence is there for all to see - from better student grades to strong community roots, the Sports Directorate of UDS provides some of the gears that run the university through helping to raise enrollment, and helping to secure strong alumni networks and creating an awareness globally about the UDS brand.

In 2018, when the nation turned its attention on Tamale, and when the media projected the northern Region in particular, positively, it was because the University had provided a platform as hosts for the 25th Ghana Universities Sports Association (GUSA) games. 

The GUSA Games, organized biennially at a selected public University, aims at among other things, selecting potential athletes to represent GUSA at any pending Federation of African Sports games (FASU Games) and International University Sports Federation games (FISU Games), as well as helping to scout for talents for the various national teams in all sporting disciplines.

Mr. Ibrahim Tanko, the first Director of Sports at UDS also had, key among his debut assignments, the task of not just getting UDS to participate at the 25th GUSA games, but to excel too. That year, the competition was fierce in all the disciplines - athletics, hockey, tennis, soccer, basketball, badminton and volleyball.

The man, known many years ago as “Of the Road”, by many football enthusiasts, when he used to play for the Upper West Heroes and Real Tamale United (RTU), Ibrahim Tanko, led the host institution, the University for Development Studies (UDS), to place second with 11 gold, 13 silver and 9 bronze medals. 

That same year, the University for Development Studies came first (1st) in football during the West African University games. The following year, 2019, having now built a solid team, the UDS football team placed first (1st) in the mini GUSA games in UCC. 

After conquering almost all there was to conquer on the local scene, it was now time for the UDS sports teams to go international. And they did!

The team participated in the Africa Olympics, in Egypt 2019 and displayed an enviable performance to place second (2nd) at the All-African University Games in Ethiopia. Team UDS hauled several medals and placed 4th during the 14th West Africa Universities Games at Port Harcourt in Nigeria in 2018

If you live for games, UDS’ Sports Directorate has got plenty of action. As is evidenced from the narration above, UDS sporting teams proudly compete in all university related sporting events and games across the continent. The directorate offers dozens of teams competing in sports such as athletics, hockey, tennis, soccer, basketball, badminton, volleyball and academic sports such as intellectual debating activities.

In recent times, some of the members of the UDS sports team, like Kofi Abagna, Mukarama Abdulai among others have been called for national team duties.