‘What happened to our Colts League?’ – Mahama questions GFA

President John Dramani Mahama has challenged the Ghana Football Association (GFA) to revive the country’s colts football system, saying Ghana has lost an important pathway for identifying and developing young talents.

Speaking during a courtesy meeting with representatives of Medeama Sporting Club, Nations FC and Ampem Darkoa at the Jubilee House on Tuesday, September 8, 2026, Mahama said youth development was one of the areas Ghana had neglected in recent years.

“There are few things in our soccer that we have left behind. One is catching young talent. We used to have a very good colts league; I don’t know what happened to it,” he said.

The President directly questioned a representative of the GFA over the state of the competition and whether there were plans to bring it back.

“So, our FA, what happened to our Colts League? Are you going to resuscitate the Colts League?” Mahama asked.

His comments highlight concerns about the weakening of Ghana’s traditional grassroots football structure, which historically provided a platform for young players to be identified before progressing into senior football.

Mahama believes restoring an effective colts’ system could help Ghana discover talents at an early age and create a stronger pipeline for the domestic league and national teams.

The call comes amid broader concerns about the development of young Ghanaian players, particularly as promising talents are increasingly moved abroad at an early stage of their careers.

Earlier during the meeting, Mahama also argued that Ghana was “too fast” to sell young players once they began attracting interest from scouts.

He suggested that emerging talents should be retained in the local league for longer and given opportunities with the national teams to gain international experience before eventually securing moves abroad.

FKA/AM