Government urged to support Clubs' participation in championships

Accra, Aug. 21, GNA - Nana Sam Brew-Butler, Former Chairman of the Ghana Football Association (GFA) has urged Government to support the participation of Clubs in continental championships.

He said participation in African Clubs Championships places huge financial burden on clubs, hence the need for Governmental support. Nana Brew-Butler, who made this remarks during the official launch of the MTN Top Four Tournament on Thursday, said the financial implications involved in engaging in the continental competitions is gradually killing off the ambitions of most Clubs from the country. In recent past, Clubs such as Liberty Professionals, Berekum Arsenal and Tema Youth among others withdrew from the continental Clubs championships due to inadequate financial resources.

Even heavyweights like Kumasi Asante Kotoko and Accra Hearts of Oak have their accounts tilting towards the 'red mark' anytime they participate, and Nana Brew-Butler insists it is about time the Ministry of Youth and Sports through the Government come to the aid of the Clubs. "Government can at least absorb 50 percent of the airfare of the clubs," added the veteran football administrator, who headed the GFA from 1993 to 1997.

Nana Brew-Butler explained that the Clubs carry high the flag of Ghana anytime they appear in the continental competitions and it is therefore only appropriate that Government shelve-off some of the responsibilities.

As regards the Top Four tournament, the former Chairman commended the organizers for the energy and resources put into the successful organization of the championship.

Abdul Rashid Pelpuo, Minister of Youth and Sports advised football fans to behave positively towards ensuring an incident-free tournament. The tournament which kicks off on Wednesday, August 26, has Hearts of Oak, Asante Kotoko, King Faisal and Heart of Lions as the participants.

The top placed club after the end of the round-robin matches will be declared the winner.

The winning team will pocket 12,000 Ghana Cedis with the runner-up taking home 8,000 Ghana cedis. Cellular Telecommunications outfit, MTN are the headline sponsors of the tournament.