Congratulations on your re-election to the enviable position as the Ghana Football Association (GFA) President and hope the trust reposed in you will not be misplaced but you will work tirelessly to enhance the image and progress of Ghana soccer. Under your leadership Ghana soccer has undergone tremendous transformation, gained some semblance of stability and unprecedented recognition to the extent of belonginess and expectedness. Not to discredit the impact of your predecessors we’ve been down this road before where we showed signs of great promise only to be leveled to ‘ground zero’ (used advisedly) due to a lack of foresight, continuous and sustainable effort. This piece therefore seeks to highlight a few suggestions or pieces of advice which when given the necessary attention will see us riding the wave of success for decades to come and are enumerated as follows:
1. There should be a critical assessment of the Association’s organizational strategy to ensure it aligns with its mission and vision, and should encompass everything from administrative to technical to personnel to ethical behavior of its officials among others.
2. Grassroots soccer development should be at the forefront of your agenda for this term of office because that’s the only way we can sustain a continuous flow of talent. Concerted efforts should be made at developing talents from the juvenile colts level across the country. I was once on the same colts team (Kaiser Babies) with Joe Addo, Santrofi Acquah, Ezekiel Alamu, Ali Ibrahim and Bright Obeng so this should tell volumes of the prospects juvenile soccer holds in our soccer development efforts.
3. Gone are the days when soccer talents only abounded in the “Cyto” school systems. Numerous talents are existent in the Secondary (SSS) schools now and high time we begin to tap into that educational pool as well. To this end I’ll suggest the GFA work in conjunction with the Ministry of Youth & Sports to sponsor someone to come to the US for a year’s internship with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) to learn the nuances and intricacies involved in sports organization across a broad spectrum of schools for subsequent review and implementation. Though the NCAA is for colleges we have only a handful of colleges in Ghana but a whole lot of secondary schools and I think whatever good attributes can be replicated at that level.
4. Soccer is big business now and should be looked at from that perspective. As such the GFA should be a full functional body with at least the President, Vice President and Secretary being full time employees so as to devote undivided attention towards their duties and responsibilities. Am not sure how one can effectively joggle family life, full time employment and say the magnitude of a position as GFA Secretary on a part time basis. We need human resources geared towards full time administration.
5. Real professional standards should be injected into the local league, and here are a few points worth considering:
i. All players of the professional league must be duly signed and under contract.
ii. All teams shall be made to register three (3) quite distinct colors or jerseys (a home jersey, an away jersey and a third jersey in case of an emergency so to speak). Under no circumstances should say Hearts of Oak go to Kumasi or vice versa and there be a clash of jerseys resulting in a delay of game.
iii. All stadia must have designated entry and exit points (gates) and no team shall especially enter otherwise. I remember in 1990 when Hearts of Oak entered the Cape Coast Stadium by climbing the wall from a different designated entrance because of some perceived juju nonsense. Any team that does otherwise should be made to forfeit the points and be fined as well.
iv .All players shall be ushered onto the field at the same time by the referee and his assistants. No games shall be delayed because one player is waiting on the sidelines for all eleven (11) players on the opposing team to enter onto the pitch first per the instruction of some stupid ways and means man. Fines and suspensions should be handed out to the player and the team.
All these medieval ways of doing things are really tarnishing the image and integrity of the game, and also making it unattractive to patronage.
6. There should be renewed efforts at rebranding soccer in Ghana through effective marketing and sponsorship. These might be too farfetched but the GFA should seriously campaign and encourage all premier league teams for starters to have at least one ex-footballer (not just any wayside player)on the technical team for a hands on, on-the-job training to help them gain the requisite knowledge and skills of coaching. Also attempts should be made at having dialogues with say GTV, Joy Fm, Choice Fm etc. to convince them to have one knowledgeable ex-footballer on their soccer program discussion panels or as soccer analysts as is the case out here with the NBA, NFL, MLB and other real soccer loving nations like England. This indirectly provides employment to the old players as well as enables the public to learn from expert minds or what is termed here ‘been there done that’.
7. There should be NO INTERFERENCE whatsoever in the selection of coaches and/or players to the national teams. The respective committees assigned with these responsibilities should be made to do their work without fear or let. It was alleged by Marcel Desailly that you (Kwesi Nyantakyi) and then Sports Minister Akua Dansua promised him the Black Stars coaching job after the departure of Rajevac. Am not sure of what became of that but if true then please let this be the first and last time your integrity and honesty is called into question.
8. The current strategy of not developing our own but waiting to pounce on any and every player who comes into the limelight and is born to Ghanaian parents isn’t a long term workable strategy. Let’s support and develop those who need it now rather than waiting to chance upon fortune. Realistically 99% of children born to Ghanaian parents in the US and Europe don’t consider themselves Ghanaians anyway so trying to coerce them or accuse them of nationalistic betrayal is almost laughable.
9. There should be a holistic approach and commitment to all the national teams. Rightfully so the Black Stars are riding high in publicity now but we should be careful not to pay all attention to them to the detriment of the other national teams. Any wonder none of the other national teams are participating in the World championships this year? Let’s try and develop across board.
10. It is a natural phenomenon in life that when someone gets a new position he/she tries to impress and sometimes neglects his/her other responsibilities. You were recently elected into a CAF Executive position and thus the propensity to make an impression there at the expense of your duties back home. Try and maintain a positive balance between your various leadership positions and where necessary do not hesitate to delegate to worthwhile deputies.
11. Perception, perception, perception!!!!!The perception about the GFA need not be reiterated and thus behoves on you to provide impeccable leadership which will in turn permeate the entire fabric of the Association. Your legacy is at stake and I’m convinced you’ve come too far to cause it to be overcome by poor judgment or lack of good leadership. We are committed to supporting you to succeed so let us all be vindicated by your abilities and dedication to excellence.
These suggestions are not in themselves exhaustive and believe other well meaning soccer fans have salient ideas and contributions to make in the future, and together with that of yours pragmatic measures and policies will be put in place to illuminate the path of Ghana’s phenomenal rise to world soccer fame.
Carl Owusu-Barnes
Maryland, USA
Roscoli@hotmail.com.
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