By
Simon Asare, GNA
Accra, Oct. 22, GNA
– Stakeholders in football have been bombarded with lots of concepts and
structural frameworks targeted at changing the fortunes of Ghana Football over
the past few months and barring any unforeseen circumstances, delegates of the
Ghana Football Association (GFA) would head to the polls on Friday, October 25,
2019 to elect new executives that would spearhead the day-to-day activities of
football for the next four years.
Undoubtedly, this
year’s Presidential race would go down in the annals of Ghana Football as the
most competitive with six candidates including George Afriyie, Kurt
Okraku, Nana Yaw Amponsah, George
Ankomah Mensah, Fred Pappoe and Madam Amanda Clinton all vying for the principal
position of Ghana football.
Deciphering
the manifestos
Every aspirant in
the Presidential race has laid down their blueprint by which their office would
be administered and one commonality in all the manifesto was the need to
rebrand the GFA considering its tarnished image over the past few years.
Certainly, the
revealing Number 12 unveiled the rots in Ghana football and the next President
of Ghana football would have lots to do in rejuvenating the confidence of all
football stakeholders to help the game thrive.
The need for
transparency, accountability and annual audit was something that common in the
manifesto of the candidates, a principle enacted by football world governing
body, FIFA, to ensure financial discipline among member countries.
Another topical
issue in the manifesto of the candidates was the need to restructure our local
competition which includes the Ghana Premier League, Division One League,
Women’s football, FA Cup competition and Juvenile football in order to make
them attractive to the corporate bodies and also valued by the fans.
Improving the
welfare of players, equipping the technical staff of national teams and club
teams and security of supporters at match venues were among other issues that
were raised in respective manifestos.
The
Debate
The GFA Presidential
debate held last Monday was an illustration of the competence brought forth by
each candidate and it was a very revealing exercise.
Despite, George
Afriyie missing out on the debate, the five candidates were exposed to some
pertinent issues that needed to be tackled to make Ghana football great.
Mr. Fred Pappoe, was
one of the top performers on the night bringing forth some wonderful ideas
considering his vast experience in football especially having been Vice President
for a couple of years under the Kwesi Nyantakyi led administration.
The youthful Nana
Yaw Amponsah, made a strong case why he should be made the next President
sharing his knowledge on how to address some setbacks in the game of football.
Mr. Kurt Okraku,
certainly the man with the rich football credentials, did very well on night
bringing forth his knowledge in the area of marketing and football
administration and how he wants to revamp the FA to make it successful in the
near future.
George Ankomah and
Amanda Clinton, were not too bad on night despite some hiccups in their
delivery but also made a strong case to the delegates.
So after the
unveiling manifestos and going through the debate processes, the big question
is ‘‘Who becomes the next President of Ghana’s football? George Afriyie, Kurt Okraku, Fred Pappoe and
Nana Yaw Amponsah are certainly the front runners but George Ankoma and Amanda
Clinton could be surprise packages on Friday.
In summary Ghana
football is at crossroads and regardless of the outcome of the highly
anticipated election on Friday, stakeholders would take a big step in
reigniting the passion of nation after a turbulent period in Ghana’s football
history.
GNA
