A 'Professional' Premier League Indeed!

(A GNA Sports Feature by Kofi Addae)

Ghana's decision in 1993 to opt for a professional league was largely welcomed by all, but 16 years down the lane, there is only little to boast of. With a definite switch expected to have reflected positively from the lower ranks to the apex, the end results appear the opposite as there is always an anticlimax finish to the Premier League.

Professional football, as opposed to amateur football, is one in which athletes (footballers) receive payment for their performance. But clearly there is more to that than just financial benefits for the athletes (footballers) involved.

Professional football embodies organizational, tactical and technical improvement, incident-free and timeliness among others. Despite boasting about professionalism, the Ghana Premier League has little or no traces of the above features.

For Ghanaian soccer fans, the definition of a professional league is one characterized by regular protests, un-investigated allegations of match fixing and a higgledy-piggledy calendar among others. These factors have gradually killed off some passion for the world's most popular sport among the passionate Ghanaians, many of whom have found new love in the English Premier League, Spanish Primera Liga, Italian Serie A and the German Bundesliga.

Of these, the killer disease that every season shows off its head is protests and the virus is the issue of unqualified players.

These two phenomena coupled with the consistent rescheduling of matches, allegations of bribery, pockets of unpunished violence at match venues, among others have placed the country's Premier League in the shadows of professionalism.

In 2006, the then Professional League Board, now Premier League Board (PLB) mooted the idea of synchronization of the football calendar with that of Europe. A laudable move by all standards but the frequent court cases following 'no or reduced trust' in the rulings of the legislative bodies of the Ghana Football Association (GFA) has made the idea remain a dream.

In addition to that, the PLB is compelled to alter its calendar, sometimes at the eleventh hour. Amazingly, away games of the senior national team, Black Stars, are often enough reasons to merit a postponement of league matches. And it is surprising that the fixtures of the 2010 World Cup/Africa Cup of Nations were made public since November 2008, but the actions of our authorities prove that they are yet to inculcate them into their plans.

When Nigeria played Mozambique in Maputo last March, the matches of the Glo Premier League went on as arranged. For Tunisia and Algeria, league matches went on at a time they were playing at home in the 2010 World Cup qualifiers. In March, Algeria hosted the CAF U-17 Championships, yet it had no effect on the Algerian football with the league and FA Cup going on as planned.

If this scenario had been in Ghana, the league would have been held up temporarily for the almost one month duration of the tournament to the detriment of the clubs, who have to cough out monthly wages to their players whether they kick a ball or not with the fans denied of their interest. When Ghana played Mali in Bamako in a 2010 World Cup/Africa Cup of Nations qualifier last June, the league matches originally fixed for Saturday, June 5 were rescheduled on the fringes of 'national interest'. Meanwhile, the Mali-Ghana game was on Sunday, June 6.

For the PLB, they face one of their major challenges with the impending 2009/2010 soccer season following an order by FIFA that all National Leagues must end by May 2010 due to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. With the experiences above, it is 'very' unlikely that the PLB may meet that deadline, but they have assured otherwise. Would a zonal league be an option? This should be the concern of all.

When would the English FA, German Football Federation (DFB) and others alter their entire calendar due to one of the above factors? Never! I know you do too!

For protests, they have come to stay with us and many are looking forward to the first ever protest-free league in Ghana (I stand to be corrected). Hardly does a season pass without the killer disease of 'protests' and the virus 'unqualified player' showing their decayed teeth at the corridors of the FA.

When would Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and others lose points for fielding an 'unqualified player'?

However in Ghana we have to count ourselves blessed if no club files a protest in that regard throughout a particular season. Two years ago, the PLB introduced one of the 'modern techniques' towards curbing that 'demonic' menace in our game; Registration, Verification and Publication, but they seem nowhere near the solution.

Till this day, cards of players are inspected at match venues despite fulfilling the registration, verification and publication procedures. It also beats my imagination how a club can field a player who has attracted three yellow cards in previous matches, for the ensuing game which he is automatically ineligible. Are we playing on the intelligence of other clubs? Sometimes, the PLB publishes the names of the ineligible players for a particular match, yet the said players find their way unto the pitch. It seems the loss of three points for such an offence is no big deal for the clubs, but what of if a hefty fine and lengthy ban for the player in question is put in place?

Unpunished violence at match venues is another discerning factor that is greatly blemishing the Professional league. Venues such as the Golden City Park (Berekum) and Len Clay Stadium (Obuasi) are places no away club can dream of snatching the maximum points from. At best, a draw is good even if one has the guts for all three points. Even football giants, Asante Kotoko and Hearts of Oak return from the two venues and others almost every season with pockets full of complaints, yet the accused go scot-free.

What do you think a sanction in the form of playing in an empty stadium will serve clubs whose venues have earned the moniker into a waterloo?

Despite the introduction of cameras at match venues, some club officials drive out the PLB TV Crew to enable them carry out their nefarious activities and re-instate them after achieving their plans. It is therefore very rare that such incidents will be captured on tape and surprisingly the Match Commissioners fail to report on most of the incidence.

If the presence of purported snakes during a match merits no punishment, then next time, let's expect Lions, Tigers and Crocodiles at match venues. Very soon, our stadia will metamorphous into Zoos or Game Reserves as clubs are bent on achieving their deeds, by hook or crook. Recently, an official of a club admitted on air to slapping an official of another club at a legislative sitting at the GFA headquarters in Accra, yet he went away seemingly the champion.

For the allegations, there has been countless of them. The insistence by the GFA on the provision of evidence to back allegations of bribery and match fixing among others might not help. The old adage says: "There is an iota of truth in every rumour", and therefore the PLB and GFA must investigate such allegations to the marrow, while sharpening the blunt edges of the cutlasses of the legislative bodies.

The standard of the game is also nothing to write home about. The only time a game inched closer to 'standard' is during the 'El-Classico' between Asante Kotoko and Hearts of Oak; and with that many still have doubts. Many say it is the exodus bandwagon while others say there are no 'good' players. The two factors may be true but what form of motivation is given to the main actors - the players.

It is common knowledge that some Premier League players earn as low as 50 Ghana cedis (40 US dollars) a month. With this, some players are owed salaries and bonuses for months. Even 'big guns' Asante Kotoko and Hearts of Oak are not the favoured destination of some players, hence the decision to leave for as low as non-soccer countries such as Vietnam and India, where they are at least assured of earning at least 2,000 dollars a month, thereby depriving the league of the best of talents.

For most leagues abroad, including some part of Africa, there is a minimum wage for players. Early this year, the Senegal Football Federation (Senefoot) declared a minimum wage of 50,000 CFA (100 US dollars) for footballers playing in their Premier League.

On officiating, 'strange' interpretation of the Laws of the Game is the order of the day in the country. Referees are often blamed for twisting the laws in favour of the home side to ensure their safety. This is motivated by the fact that Clubs go unpunished while others are handed meager sanctions for consistent assault on referees.

The level of corporate support for the Premier League is largely due to the 'cobwebs' above. It is when the league is 'pure' and professionally run that more sponsors will come on to make the game worth watching.

The ball is therefore in the court of the GFA and PLB, who need to back up! That way it will ensure that the clubs, management, passionate fans would be encouraged to patronise Ghanaian League matches.

By: Kofi Addae