Square pegs in round holes

One week into the new year and I’m already thinking about how President Mahama can remove some square pegs from the wrong holes for the betterment of Ghana Sports. That is my plea to His Excellency in 2016.

At least getting a more vibrant Sports Minister and a visionary at the helm of the ever-dwindling National Sports Authority (NSA) in the final lap would be worthwhile towards the revival of Ghana Sports.

Comparing the transformational era of Prince Oduro-Mensah to that of his successors Worlanyo Agra and Joe Kpenge, I can only conclude that the NSA has been running anti-clockwise for the past seven years or so. Surely, Ghanaians deserve better than this kind of mediocrity and I daresay that it is time for change!

Another thing that beats my imagination is why we as a nation have been struggling to get a Sports Minister worth his salt at the Ministry of Youth and Sports. From the time of the longest-serving Mr Enoch Teye Mensah to date, I have lost count of the number of ministers who have passed through that sensistive ministry, yet the impact of all these men have been very minimal.

To put it mildly, legacies standing in the names of those men have been largely non-existent, save perhaps Yaw Osafo-Marfo, whose instrumentality in the Gold Fields Ghana sponsorship deal for the Black Stars in 2005 resulted in Ghana’s epoch-making FIFA World Cup appearance at Germany 2006.

Another minister who showed a lot of promise was the late Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu, but his untimely death dashed any such hopes, not forgetting the youthful exuberance of Rashid Bawa who was full of drive, yet could not travel far with his ambitions due to the enemy called reshuffle.

The rest, to a large extent, have been nothing but ordinary, to the detriment of Ghana Sports. Mahama Ayariga who handed over the baton to the current minister, Dr Mustapha Ahmed, earlier in the year is no exception.

As I think aloud in my struggle to fathom why this nation cannot get the right man to transform Ghana Sports, one name which keeps popping up as somebody who should be given the chance is Nii Lante Vanderpuije. As a sportsman, commentator, administrator and politician, perhaps my brother could bring his rich experience gained over the years to bear to revive the hopes of Ghanaians.

Aside that, let me give Kwesi Nyantakyi and the Ghana Football Association (GFA) thumbs up for ending 2015 on a high after receiving the flak many times during the year. I remember advising the FA in this column last week to take a critical look at the influential role of the media as a tool to promote the league, hence the need to engage them as strategic partners in a retreat to discuss the way forward.

In connection with that the GFA organised a two-day stakeholder’s seminar in Accra this week to brainstorm ways to package the league and make it more marketable for fans to patronise. That was, indeed, a laudable step worth applauding. However, I still recommend an exclusive encounter between the GFA and the media before next season to bridge the gap and also discuss matters of mutual interest for the benefit of Ghana Football.

As a journalist who once served on the FA Cup Committee (FACC), I can say without any shred of doubt that the success story of that tournament since its revival in 2011 has been due to its good media relations. The FACC has a plan and package for the media season after season.

The other credit that goes to the GFA has to do with the establishment of an endowment fund last Monday to cater for retired footballers. While giving them a pat on the back for a good job done, I only pray that the objective of the fund would be realised, just as the clubs’ retreat.

That calls for nothing but hard work by the five-man Board of Trustees chaired by Prof. Kwame Karikari, as well as the effective implementation of lessons learnt by the FA and clubs at the two-day seminar.

I wish my readers a Blessed Christmas and a Fulfilling 2016.