Is Corruption In Ghana Footbal Dying?

When "corruption" is mentioned in any endeavor, the first thing that comes to mind is abuse of power. Sometimes embezzlement, mismanagement or misappropriation of funds can also be likened to the word. These are the direct meanings of the word. Questions can also be asked about ones character in office and credibility. The answers that are derived about the person can be described as one who lacks integrity. However lack of skill and talent, creativity and expertise to administer a particular office competently can also be described as corruption in a sense.

Before Ghana saw a major transformation in her football, with the introduction of Mr. Kwesi Nyantakyi's Administration, it could be said that, Ghana's football was on the decline. Since the Black Stars conquest of Africa in the 1982 EDITION of the Nations Cup, it hasn't been easy qualifying for subsequent competitions until 1992 when they scrapped through to Senegal. That was a determined effort because though we possessed players of the highest quality, administration at that level was not the best as we did not practice the culture of continuity in terms of team building and struggled almost every time, raising a cohesive force.

It has been an "on" and "off" syndrome until Nyantakyi and his team took over in the early part of the millennium. So then one may ask what has changed this time round. Is it the personalities involved, their skills, proper planning, and better understanding of the sport or what? The reasons could be diverse. But what ever the reasons are, they are getting the results and that is what matters. Any other issue is secondary. It will interest one to know that, the earlier administrations were also professionals with their private businesses and were succeeding in their sphere of endeavor but why were they not able to translate that to football. It is amazing isn't it?

But then let find out what wasn't done right in the past. You will agree with me when players were reported to have arrived in camp late to a game. Some would even leave camp as reports would have it, to attend to personal issues and to visit their loved ones. There was simply gross indiscipline especially with our senior national team, The Black Stars. You would agree with me that, lack of discipline in any undertaking provides a lackadaisical attitude which will obviously not achieve results. We all could testify that, under the Nyantakyi's administration, the nucleus of the team reported to camp early and the Coach had ample time at his disposal to prepare the team before a game.

Players were not enthused about their training schedules because, facilities at the Winneba Sports College where the Stars camped were deplorable. With the kind of training facilities at the disposal of these players at their club bases, this certainly was below par. Under the Nyantakyi's Administration, training camps are organized in Europe where facilities are up to standard and the proximity of the venue to the base of these players are suitable.

Player commitment in time past was nothing to write home about as you could observe in games that the Stars featured that their play was disjointed largely due to the fact that the players were not committed to the course. There was no philosophy that binds them and were not ready to die for each other. Someone may attribute this problem to a strictly technical indiscipline and not playing together as a team for long which is true in a sense, but when there is commitment, the players can do anything to bring victory and that is what the present Black Stars team possesses. You will realize that, the team that we presented at the Nations Cup was not all that formidable, but commitment and will on the part of the players to achieve something for their nation brought us far.

There were times that we had heard the meals that were served in camp were of low quality. Training kits and jerseys were also not properly branded. But by the kind efforts of the present administration, a top class brand as "PUMA" has officially been secured for the side. This is by kind courtesy of lucrative sponsorship from Goldfields Ghana, through which salaries and bonuses of coaches and players are paid without sweat. You could see professionalism at its best in this era of our football.

Goldfields has been around for all this years, but one may ask why now? It is obvious that, the present administration has demonstrated certain qualities that have attracted the Gold Mining Company. They have shown commitment, dedication, loyalty and above all accountability that are making the investment worthwhile. Do not forget the men at the helm of affairs are running the sport just like their private enterprises. Some are private lawyers, real estate developers and the likes so you can understand why. Moreover they have shown that, they really possess the skills to get the results and understand the sport and how it should be run. This places them miles ahead of their predecessors.

The team has also enjoyed good relationship with their superior's which hitherto was not the case. You could see the interaction and humor that goes on between the F.A officials, Coaches and players during training camps. Thanks to an extensive coverage by GTV before the Nations Cup. Sometimes you could even see jokes cracked at that level and looks just beholding. The cordial relationship enjoyed by the senior players is being extended to the young. Gone were the days when players fought over captainship role and domineered over the young. Stephen Appiah the current senior captain of the Black Stars has unified the entire playing body in this regard. Anthony Annan's rise as a midfield force indicates the encouragement and motivation that he receives from his senior colleague, Essien..

We had in time past left our football facilities and infrastructure to ruins. The least that was done for the hosting of "THE GHANA'99" YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP was to partially renovate the then Accra Sports Stadium. We had seen a new sports administration which had fully reconstructed two old Stadia and built two new ones with the modern state of the arts design, fully equipped for international competitions. This is unprecedented in the history of Ghana football and made the hosting of the Ghana 2008 Nations Cup a reality. It has enhanced Ghana's deteriorated sports image and placed us amongst the top football countries of the world. This is highly commendable of the present sports regime and all hands must be on deck to maintain these facilities to the highest order.

Our premiership still lacks players of European quality as the standard of play is very low and creating of goal scoring opportunities not at its best. Football clubs must introduce academies aimed at raising footballers for our local league and must be stuffed with modern day facilities and top class Caches that will teach the basic techniques of football. With this, the kids will grow not struggling to implement the tricks that their senior colleagues have found to be a tall order. Top class coaches must also join in on football clubs to help develop the sport even at the senior level. This means the sponsorship by Ghana Telecom of our league which for me is not broad based and should be considered again. It is obvious the sponsorship does not include coverage of live matches and development of our sports in entirety. We only see a giant trophy presented to the overall winner and a cash amount. The sponsorship package needs to be properly planned and must receive support from other organizations if we should get far as a football nation.

The coming in of Corporate Sponsorship will help a lot at club level. We should get to a stage where a corporate body centre focuses on one club. With this, the concentration will be keen as there will be enough funds to finance a particular club and every aspect of their game. This is one of the areas that the ruling sports administration should streamline. Aside they have performed creditably well and displayed their integrity to all Ghanaians.