When Betway arrived in Ghana in 2016, I do not think many of us could have imagined what the next decade would look like.Ten years later, Betway is celebrating a decade in Ghana, and for me, the anniversary carries a slightly more personal meaning.I have had the privilege of being an ambassador for the brand throughout that journey, carrying its message, telling its stories and, importantly, seeing some of its work up close.And when I look back, what strikes me most is that the Betway story in Ghana has gone beyond betting or even sports sponsorship. It has increasingly been about using the reach and influence of sport to create opportunities, build capacity and touch communities in places that do not always get that kind of attention.That, to me, is perhaps the most significant part of the journey.More than putting a logo on a shirtIn football, Betway’s presence has been particularly visible.The company sponsored Ghana Premier League clubs including Medeama, Aduana Stars and AshantiGold, becoming part of the fabric of the domestic game at different points in the league’s recent history.But what I found interesting was that the company’s involvement in football did not stop at putting a logo on a shirt or attaching its name to a competition.The support for the Women’s Premier League, for instance, went beyond sponsorship. Teams received equipment, including kits, while players and officials benefited from capacity building workshops involving experts in areas such as marketing, coaching and nutrition.It was a recognition of something we often talk about in Ghanaian sport but do not always act on: that developing sport requires developing the people who make it work.I saw a similar philosophy in the Betway 12th Man project, which the company undertook with former Ghana captain Stephen Appiah.The project was designed for retired footballers, many of whom had spent their entire lives preparing for and playing football but suddenly had to navigate life after the game.Through workshops in marketing, personal branding, punditry and other areas, the programme sought to equip them with skills that could help them build a second career.For me, that was particularly meaningful.Footballers give so much to the game. But sometimes we forget that there has to be life after football.Giving talent a chanceStephen Appiah also became the face of the Betway Talent Search, another initiative that I found particularly exciting because of its focus on young people.The programme went into communities looking for football talent and created opportunities for promising players to be seen and, potentially, gain international exposure with clubs outside Ghana.But again, the important thing was what happened beyond simply identifying a talented footballer.The talent searches were accompanied by training sessions, workshops and equipment donations. So even if a young player did not end up signing for a foreign club, the community was left with something.That is an important distinction.A successful community programme should not necessarily be measured only by the number of people who eventually become professionals. Sometimes its impact is in the confidence a child gains, the equipment a local team receives, the knowledge a coach acquires or the opportunity created for somebody who may otherwise never have been noticed.Taking sport beyond footballOne of the things I have enjoyed watching over the years is how the impact expanded beyond football.Betway supported basketball teams and organised clinics while also providing equipment to local clubs across the country.Through Betway Up, the company’s community focused initiative, that philosophy became even more visible.The programme sought to use sport and other interventions to uplift communities, including supporting Ghana’s amputee national teams with equipment and training.That matters because sport has a remarkable ability to bring people together, but it can also expose inequalities.The athletes who need support the most are not always the ones who receive the most attention.Seeing initiatives directed towards para sport was therefore significant.The impact beyond the pitchPerhaps the most interesting part of the Betway story, however, is what has happened away from the sporting field.Under the Betway Cares initiative, the company provided two solar powered charging stations to communities in the Greater Accra Region that previously had no access to electricity.It is the kind of intervention that may not make as much noise as a football sponsorship, but its significance to the people who live there can be much more immediate.And then there was the Betway Tumu Cup in 2025.More than 20 communities in the Sissala East District of the Upper West Region came together for a day of community football and engagement.For many people, community football is simply a game. But when you travel outside Ghana’s major cities, you begin to appreciate how much more it can mean.It can be a meeting point. It can bring communities together. It can create a sense of belonging. And, sometimes, it is one of the few organised activities that gives young people something positive to look forward to.The Tumu Cup was significant for another reason: it took this kind of large scale engagement to a part of Ghana that does not always find itself at the centre of corporate activity.That is why, for me, the most important part of the Betway story is not simply how much the company has spent or how many sponsorships it has signed.It is where some of that investment has gone.Ten years onHaving been part of this journey as an ambassador, I have had a front row seat to the evolution.I have carried the Betway message, spoken about its programmes and helped tell some of these stories. But I have also been able to see the difference between simply talking about impact and actually going into communities and doing something.No brand gets everything right, and no corporate social responsibility programme can solve all the challenges facing Ghanaian sport or society.But ten years is long enough to look back and identify a pattern.From professional football to women’s football, from retired players to young talents, from basketball to amputee football, and from major sporting centres to communities in places such as Tumu, Betway’s Ghana journey has increasingly been about creating opportunities and building capacity.That is what makes this anniversary more than a corporate milestone for me.It is a reminder of how much can happen when a brand’s resources meet the energy of sport and the needs of communities.I have been fortunate to witness that journey from close range.And as Betway marks ten years in Ghana, perhaps the most exciting question is not simply what the company has achieved over the last decade.It is what the next ten years could look like.