SWAG Worried Over State Of Sports

The state of Ghana soccer has been a cause of worry to sports loving Ghanaians for sometime now. The hope that the next championship would bring changes in our misfortunes has now disappeared especially with our poor performance at the just-ended Olympic Games. Instead of the pride of a nation welcoming its heroes with fanfare, our officials virtually sneaked in without notice, thus no red carpets for jubilation.

It is for this reason that the Sports Writers Association of Ghana(SWAG) in a statement, called on Parliament to invite the Minister for Youth and Sports Mr. E.T. Mensah to make a statement on the state of Ghana sports at Parliament. The Association further stressed that after the minister's statement, it would want the house to debate the state of sports in the country and adopt a non-partisan approach to the issue. The vice-president of SWAG, Ebo Quansah in a statement stated that parliament need to critically examine the new Sports Bill which will be laid before the House for approval and urged the House to critically examine it before it is passed into law.

It also added that, copies of the bill should be made available to stakeholders so that recommendations can be made. SWAG stated that it ought not to reflect the views of the Ministry or Government only but those who actually spend time promoting and administering sports in the country. These include the National Sports Council, the various sports associations, the SWAG and all who contribute to the development of sports in Ghana.

Information reaching SWAG hinted that the new sports bill follows the pattern of the old SMC Decree governing sports which lumps all sporting associations including the Ghana Football Association under the direct control of the Sports Council. However, the association believe it is necessary to strengthen the sports council for it to be able to stand up to political interference in the administration of sports.

In relation to the autonomy of the FA, the association appealed to the Ghana Football Association to be able to raise its own funds to, for instance, to be able to meet its administrative expenses and pay the wages of a national coach. The FA was called upon to amend its constitution especially the clause dealing with the appointment of its executives, particularly the Chairman which runs counter to FIFA regulations and frowning on all forms of political interference. SWAG warned against the threat to replace the current chairman of the FA Alhaji Jawula at a time when he has warmed himself into the hierarchy of CAF and FIFA, and considering the fact that Ghana has not produced any high ranking official within both Federations for sometime now. The Association took the opportunity to comment on the need or otherwise to hire a national team coach, saying that the mechanisms ought to be put in place by the authorities to produce first class coaches to handle teams in the country. It stressed that we need to nurture confidence in our local ones and advised that the Ministry needs to put in place a system of training for coaches in the country as well as for recently retired stars for a period of two years. The statement named Isaac Paha, Abdul Razak, Kwesi Appiah and recently retired captain Abedi Pele to be sent out on refresher courses in Europe after which they may be attached to top clubs like Man U, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and the rest.

The association added that concerted efforts need to be made to ensure the qualification of the Black Stars to the World Cup and expressed its disappointment at the inability of the GFA to hire the services of top German coach Rainer Bonhof. The GFA under the contract with Mr. Rainer Bonhof agreed on $15000 a month, $50,000 as signing fee and $60,000 bonus if Black Stars went to the World Cup. He was also entitled to other privileges like free accommodation and others. This, the association stated may look like a king's ransom but it was not commensurate to $500,000 as participation bonus and other related ones. Thus, every effort must be made to send Ghana to the World Cup. SWAG therefore called on all to help address the present state of sports in the country.