Legend behind the lens — Kwabena Ofori heads to the Smithsonian
Veteran Ghanaian sports photojournalist Kwabena Ofori has spent more than three decades documenting some of the world’s biggest sporting moments while helping to amplify African stories on the international stage. Ofori has built a career defined by passion, consistency and international recognition spanning FIFA World Cups and Olympic Games to the African Cup of Nations.
Born on May 16, 1951, in Bisiasi, Ghana, Kwabena Ofori attended Kumasi High School before furthering his education outside Ghana. He earned a Diploma in German Language from Hamburg Volkshochschule in 1975 and later obtained a Diploma in photojournalism from the Winston Ingram Institute in London in 1986.
Ofori formally began his media career in 1990 as a freelance photojournalist before launching Capital Sports, a Ghana-based sports tabloid where he served as publisher and editor. His work soon gained international attention, leading him to become a correspondent for publications including Afrique Football Magazine in France, African Soccer Magazine in the United Kingdom and France-based Afrique du Sport Magazine.
In 1995, he trained with Voice of America and later became one of its longtime sports correspondents, contributing African sports coverage to global audiences.
Over the years, Ofori has covered multiple FIFA World Cups, including tournaments in the United States, France and Germany, as well as FIFA Women’s World Cups, Olympic Games and several African Cup of Nations tournaments. His reporting career has also taken him to events like the Commonwealth Games and the London Marathon.
On his legacy, Kwabena Ofori shares: “I never just took photos, I tried my best to preserve history every time I click the shoot button, whether on a KODAK film camera or a Canon digital camera. Every frame was about making sure Africa’s triumphs, struggles, and joys were seen, respected, and remembered.”
“If one young African on the continent or in the Diaspora sees my work and picks up a camera to tell our stories, then I think I’ve done my job. It is more of a miracle of God’s making that even I did it beyond 3 decades,” he added.
Beyond journalism, Ofori invested in youth sports development by founding Capital Sports Football Club in Accra in 1998, helping nurture young football talent in Ghana.
“Mr. Ofori’s archive is more than sports photography, it’s a visual chronicle of African agency on the global stage,” said Emmanuel Amponsah, former sports editor of The Ghanaian Times, a leading national dailies in Ghana.
“Having him anchor this program connects the 2026 World Cup to 30 years of African football heritage. No one tells that story with more authority, integrity, and heart than my friend Kwabena,” Mr. Amponsah disclosed.
His decades of work in sports media have now earned him another international opportunity in a project with the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African Art (NMAfA) in connection with the public program Stars, Stripes, and Stadiums: America’s 250th & FIFA 2026, scheduled for July 18, 2026.
As part of the program, Kwabena Ofori has been invited to the United States for Smithsonian-related media activities and program documentation.
He is expected to be the highlight of a panel at NMAfA where he will tell the stories behind some of his photos, some of which will be digitally displayed at the museum in Washington, D.C as the 2026 FIFA World Cup heats up.
The program, co-sponsored by the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, is scheduled for July 18, 2026. It will also feature former African players within the United States Major League Soccer and some members of respective Football Associations within Africa also represented on its panel.
Source: theafricandream.co
