A New League For Ghana Football?

Michael Essien was once a school-kid playing ‘socks ball’ and ‘gutter to gutter’ in the streets and parks of his neighbourhood. Through a combination of his skills and favourable circumstances, he’s risen to the top of his game and is recognized the world over. I’d like to think that there are thousands of school-children all over Ghana today who aspire to be the next Essien or Ayew or Agogo. Does the current environment encourage them to make it to that level? Would a new league at the school level be helpful to the development of football in Ghana?

Let’s start by looking at the system that will be the terminal point for most professional footballers in Ghana: the Premier League currently sponsored by OneTouch. That’s where week in, week out, fans concentrate their attention on their favourite clubs and players. Over the period of a season, the progress of teams and individuals can be followed and assessed. Through the power of broadcast media, fans who don’t make it to the various stadia can track the exploits of their heroes and curse their ill fortune when their teams fail to win. Money from sponsors and media rights help clubs in their quest to remain financially afloat. Players perform to win trophies for their teams and hopefully catch the eye of national team selectors. All in all, the league system has helped to shape football at the senior level. And what has this got to do with the development of football in the school system, you ask? My response is, everything!

Name any high school in Ghana. Achimota, St. Peter’s, Navrongo. Chances are that they all have parks where athletics competitions and soccer games are held. So do you think it would be difficult for these schools organize themselves into leagues? For starters, the stadia are already in place! For example you’d have the Ashanti Region High School League comprising Prempeh, Opoku Ware and T.I. Ahmadiyya to name a few. The Central Region High School League would have teams from Mfantsipim, St. Augustine’s, Adisadel and the rest. There’d be a format where each team plays each other home and away on weekends, just like in the Premier League. At the end of the school year, the top teams in each region in Ghana would take part in a tournament to determine the best high school team for the year, goal king, best defender and so on. Sounds simple doesn’t it? But there are questions. Will it be expensive? Why bother with such a system?

‘Catch them young’. That’s a phrase you often hear in Ghana. I believe it can be applied to maximum effect with the creation of school football leagues. What better place to start nurturing the stars of tomorrow than when they are in their formative years getting an education? School authorities could even make selection into the school team dependent on students attaining certain minimum grades in school work – this way we would be producing multi-dimensional people equipped for other professions in the event that they don’t become professional footballers. I think that for a national school league to work, participating schools would need to form some sort of federation of high school football teams. This federation armed with figures on its membership and reach would be the one to approach corporate bodies in negotiations for kit, equipment, media and other sponsorships. The role of television cannot be underestimated in popularizing football at the school level and I’m not even talking about live games. A simple 5-minute summary from all 10 regional leagues would amount to a 60-minute weekly television show. Such a programme would point the public to rising stars and serve to showcase their talents on a regular basis.

I believe that a school football league is needed to maximize the discovery and development of young soccer talents. Apart from providing much-needed investment and revenue for participating schools, this league would complement the efforts of football academies and serve as a conduit into the national league and the various national teams, especially at the youth level. Taking an even broader view, I see no reason why the league format can’t be introduced from the upper primary right up to the level of polytechnics, teacher training colleges and universities. Ghana is a known for producing exciting footballers – from the good old days of Robert Mensah to the current era of Anthony Annan and the like. The establishment of a school league system, with adequate corporate investment in facilities, training and equipment can only build on this reputation and contribute to the development of football in Ghana.

Dey, Kafui – Marketing Professional
Email: kafuideymarketing@gmail.com