Corporate bodies should partner soccer league organizers-Veep

Accra, Aug. 21, GNA - Vice President John Dramani Mahama on Sunday, appealed to corporate organizations to support local football organizers to make the Ghana Premier league more competitive and attractive.

He said government would also play a crucial role to ensure that the local premier league was heavily patronized and also meet the standards of most European leagues.

Vice President Mahama made this appeal when officials of Barclays Bank and Multi-choice, Ghana, presented the English Premier League trophy to him, as a novelty, developed to whip up the enthusiasm of soccer fans in the country.

Ghana is the first country to host the cup, which would be taken round African countries=A0like Nigeria, Kenya, Zambia, South Africa and Uganda, among others, in subsequent weeks.

Vice President Mahama hoped that the cup would inspire local league organizers to step up their activities to raise the level of patronage, adding that, "Although the issue of funding is affecting their organization, corporate organizations can help to lift up our game to make it more attractive."

He gave the assurance that government would also support to develop athletics and other lesser-known sports, to make Ghana a haven of not only soccer, but other sporting disciplines.

Dr Charles Mensa, Board Chairman of Barclays Bank, Ghana, said the idea was mooted to serve the desires of Ghanaian soccer fans, which had moved beyond the confines of the country.

"We realized that Ghanaians are too passionate for soccer, hence our decision to bring the cup here to further boost their morale in the game."

Mr Cecil Sunkwa-Mills, General Manager of Multichoice said their move would promote both the English and Ghanaian football, as watching their matches would encourage Ghanaians to improve their organization of the game and encourage players to strive to play in more competitive leagues in the world.