GHANSU, NSU express mixed reaction to Dzamefe C’mssion report

Soccer News of Friday, 19 June 2015

Source: Malik Abubakar/GhanaWeb

Black Stars CommissionDzamefe Commission members

Two supporters’ union leaders have expressed contrasting views on recommendations by the Justice Dzamefe Commission which borders on their activities.

Both men were speaking in separate interviews on the subject of the Dzamefe Commissions recommendation to Government to desist from sponsoring the activities of supporters unions in the country.

Abdul Aziz Haruna Futa, President of the Nationwide Supporters Union (NSU) says his group strongly disagrees with the Commission’s recommendations.

“It is very disappointing because we (supporters) are help, we use our own money to follow the teams all through the qualifiers and so more often than not; government comes in only when we qualify for the tournament proper,” he stated.

But Abraham Boakye (also known as one-man supporter) who is president of the Ghana National Supporters Union (GHANSU) said he supported the position of the commission and that it was important for supporters unions to properly package themselves and seek for support from companies.

“Supporters union should be able to put ourselves up to seek sponsorship from corporate Ghana, there are a lot of companies interested in the activities of supporters and we should take advantage of that,” he added.

The Report’s Recommendation on Supporters Unions

The yet-to-be-released report’s White Paper states thus in section 2.3 (a) “In the present state of multiple supporters’ groups, supporters must seek their own sponsorship to participate in tournaments and the state should, as a matter of policy, not directly employ public or state funds to airlift, accommodate and feed supporters.”

The document continues that in case the Government wants to necessarily sponsor fans, there should be clearly outlined modalities: “… there should be a clear policy and criteria for selection of supporters to attend such tournaments to ensure transparency in the selection on the premise that the various supporters groups should come together to form a single National Group.”

The report also asks that private contribution be encouraged to finance supporters unions instead of public funds.

The three-member Commission worked over four months with a total of 85 sittings and presented its report to the President in March 2014, after which the government has released a White Paper but without the full report as at today. Malik Abubakar.