Kurt Okraku and Infantino meet to discuss Ghana football development

Ghana Football Association President Kurt Okraku met with FIFA President Gianni Infantino in Paris on Thursday.

The meeting, initiated by Infantino, focused on the advancement of football in Ghana and Africa.

Infantino extended a warm welcome to Okraku, expressing his enthusiasm for discussing the progress of Ghanaian football.

The meeting was described as positive and productive by both parties.

Speaking after the meeting, Okraku shared key points about aligning the visions of FIFA and the Ghana Football Association.

He said, "First of all, I would want to say ‘thank you’ to the President [Gianni Infantino] for the invitation. We were here to speak about football on the global stage and, obviously, on the African continent, zooming in to Ghana.

"FIFA, led by the President, has been at the forefront of support for the development of football, especially in Africa. And it was always important for us to engage and to know how far we are going, how well we are doing, and what we have to do to make it much, much, much better. I think that the President is very clear in what needs to be done. And as the President of a Federation, I’m also very clear on the vision of FIFA and, together, we are both sharing the same vision."

Okraku highlighted the progress made in Ghanaian football since he became President of the Ghana Football Association in 2019.

"I think that the Ghanaian game was at a low before 2019. Fast forward to 2019, 2020 and now, and I think that we’ve made big inroads. Bringing all our competitions back. Bringing the desire and the passion of the people back. All our national teams are now competitive.

"We’ve gone ahead to also introduce more youth competitions, more youth national teams. Back to the (FIFA) World Cup in Qatar, after we lost out in 2018; our Black Queens, the female national team, are back in AFCON, after being away for a while. Our youth national teams are also on the rise again. All our domestic competitions are back on track and are held in a timely manner.

"And so I think the outlook looks very good (for Ghana Football). What we have to do now, going forward, is to harness the potential and the positives that have come out of what we have done, and to make sure that we continue to improve on the work we are doing. But, at the moment, I would say we are on the rise again."

In concluding his remarks, Okraku praised FIFA for its support, specifically acknowledging the efforts of key FIFA officials in Senegal.

"First of all, I would say ‘thank you’ to FIFA for the support via various schemes; through the FIFA Forward programme and the many other interventions that FIFA has introduced.

"Working with the office in Senegal with Gelson [Fernandes] and Solomon [Mudege] and the team, we are very clear on the support and necessary areas.

"I think that my Association has been very proactive in making sure that we continuously engage. I think that these levels of engagement, when they're pushed a notch higher, will bring in more results. And this is what we are working on."