GFA President's New Year message

Ghana Football Association President, Kwesi Nyantakyi shares a message with fans as another exceptional footballing year nears its conclusion.

“A memorable and thrilling year that Ghana earned the plaudits in big competitions is drawing to a close. Ghana has been involved in lots of competitions this year and as we wind up, we must feel proud for having achieved and made history in 2009.

“Of the lot, the most fantastic feat was the success story of our male Under-20 team, the Black Satellites, who added a treble of titles to our trophy room – the WAFU Cup, African Youth Championship and the historic FIFA Under-20 World Cup. Our success also brought the shine to the whole continent and we feel proud to have been able to lead the way for Africa. The game continues to bridge gaps in our societies and our triumph contributed significantly to unifying Africa.

“The senior team, the Black Stars also achieved the targets set for 2009 and we are happy to have secured our places at next year’s African Cup of Nations in Angola and the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. The team’s form during the qualifiers and the hard work of the management, coach, technical team and the main actors, the players gives us hope to look out for better times. We would be kicking off our Nations Cup campaign with the sole aim of playing for the title and we seek the support of all to make it a memorable experience in Angola.

“The FA wishes to say a big thank you to Government, our sponsors and partners and the many fans who have stuck to our brand for their contributions and support. The turn of the New Year brings fresh challenges as we strive to work hard in making sure all the national teams and clubs achieve similar successes.

“The domestic competitions have also received considerable support and it’s our aim to bring the standard at par with the big leagues abroad. We expect clubs to make good the values of the Fair Play and make the game much better. The objective is to introduce good practices in line with modern trends and we hope that all stakeholders will pull together in the same line. Further training and seminars will be held for people involved in the game to help improve the standards.

“We suffered some setbacks and it's our hope to get it right where short falls were evident and improve on every other aspect of the game.

“In 2010, the Ghana Football Association would continue to remain committed to good governance practices, transparency, accountability and development whiles maintaining out integrity. We would not shirk our corporate social responsibilities that we are engaged in. We hope to use football to support and strengthen development programmes in many areas like health, discrimination, poverty, child trafficking, education and conflicts.

“I wish you all an exciting festive season and a New Year filled with love, peace and happiness. Let’s join hands together to help with a common sense of purpose as we seek to replicate the past success in 2010 so we can have lots of memorable moments to recollect.”

Kwesi Nyantakyi

[President, Ghana Football Association]