NC's Special Competition kicks off on Saturday

Ghana Football Association Normalisation Committee has finally launched its proposed Special Competitions for elite and division one clubs after months of delay.

Set to commence on Saturday, the March 30 to June 30 championships are expected to involve all 64 Ghana Premier League and Division One League clubs. However, two clubs - top tier side Wa All Stars and lower division outfit New Edubiase United - are yet to confirm their participation.

The two competitions are: the Premier League Competition for only top tier clubs - resembling the regular local topflight - and the Knock-out Competition for both top tier and Division One League clubs - resembling the regular FA Cup competition.

The 16 top tier clubs will be grouped into two zones - Southern and Northern - with each zone comprising eight teams.

The top two teams from each zone at the end of the home-and-away league format will progress to the semi-finals, and then the two winners will meet in the grand finale to decide the ultimate winner, who will represent Ghana in the 2019-20 Caf Champions League.

The winner of the Knock-out Competition will represent the country in the 2019-20 Caf Confederation Cup.

The competitions are set to mark the resumption of football activities in the west African nation since the suspension of domestic leagues in June last year after an investigative documentary by renowned undercover journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas left the Ghana FA and its leadership in a turbulent bribery and corruption scandal.

Owing to the long absence of football competitions, the Normalisation Committee - an interim body tasked by Fifa, Caf and the Ghanaian government to temporarily run the sport in the stead of the FA - announced the all-new championships in December to "keep clubs active" until the start of a new season.

Initially scheduled to begin on January 26, the championships were postponed on three occasions due to a series of setbacks before being cancelled altogether last month on grounds of sabotage by the elite division clubs.

However, they were reinstated late last month following a high-profile stakeholder meeting organised by Ghana's Ministry of Youth and Sports and the national Parliament.