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Why Sports Ministry’s response to FIFA is hollow and vacous

Sports Minister Minister of Youth and Sports, Isaac Asiamah

Wed, 15 Aug 2018 Source: Michael Asare Boadu

I woke up to see a statement from the Sports Ministry responding to a FIFA letter issuing an ultimatum to the Ghana Government to withdraw a court process to dissolve the GFA before August 27 or risk being banned.

After carefully studying the MOYS’ response, I have arrived at a conclusion that the statement is only providing a timeline of happenings that have occurred in the course of events and doesn’t tackle the substantive matter.

As to why the MOYS has sought to reply FIFA with this is perplexing and can only exude the notion that the Sports Ministry has not been entirely honest, sincere and forthcoming with all relevant information in their previous engagements with the World Football governing body.

Why take the pain and stress to chronologise all happenings to a body you have been engaging directly. Did the Sports Minister not meet the CAF president few days before the FIFA letter?

So what exactly did Hon Isaac Asiamah tell him?

Well let me move on from that and be quick to highlight that the MOYS statement is also made up of factual inaccuracies and reeks of intellectual dishonesty.

Points1, 2, 3 have never been contended. So why even go ahead to state it. And FIFA itself has not gone silent in all this. After the Number 12 documentary was made public, FIFA/CAF have gone ahead to deal with persons involved.

The former GFA president Kwesi Nyantakyi has been banned; a decision which triggered his subsequent resignation from all football held roles.

Referees in Ghana and across Africa culpably involved in the Anas expose have also been sanctioned accordingly.

Is it not apparent that as it stands now, it can only be said firmly that the Ghana government is the one that has shown little or no commitment to punitorily deal with those culpable.

As it stands now, Kwesi Nyantakyi and the other officials implicated are yet to be charged by a competent court of jurisprudence. So who then should we trust to reform a perceived corrupt and rogue organization.



And FIFA has NEVER barred government from using the national laws to tackle corruption but the government has clearly demonstrated a lack of understanding of the whole issue and is engaging in a populist agenda in their zeal to dissolve the GFA.

Therefore they need to be whipped in line before they whipsaw us further.

Several stakeholders have spoken about the way forward and summaries from their views captured nothing like dissolution.

In fact the logic behind this whole dissolution idea is flawed and in some quarters risible. It also exposes the hypocrisy of government.

When the President detected that he had been misled to agreeing a deal with Ameri, did he sack just the Minster of Energy Boakye Agyarko or attempt to dissolve the Ministry.

The Police have glaringly engaged in corrupt practices and displayed acts of incompetence with the effusive lawlessness across the country.

Why hasn’t the narrative centered on dissolving the Ghana Police Service?

Why have we not attempted to dissolve the Judiciary when the same investigative journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas uncovered unfettered acts of bribery and corruption within the body?

Why Why Why.

Where lies government’s interest to do what they intend doing?

That they are driven by the sentiments of a section of Ghanaians (be it majority or minority). How infantile and depressing.

And in point 1, the Minister made it known that the GFA itself suspended football activities. That is not entirely accurate.

The GFA’s hands were forced due to some decisions taken by government.

Before that announcement to suspend all football activities, the GFA had communicated fixtures for the MTN FA Cup days earlier.

Here are timeline of events that eventually compelled the suspension of games by the GFA.

On May 22, the President through the CID ordered an official investigation into the actions of the former GFA president Kwesi Nyantakyi in relation to the Number 1 documentary.

The Number 12 expose was aired first on June 6th. A day after, a team of Police officials flaunted the GFA’s headquarters.

A day after, they declared the GFA premises a crime scene with hard drives and computers seized.

The Ministry of Information in a statement revealed they had taken steps to dissolve the GFA and that as on the 7th of June.

All these occurrences and others rendered the GFA incapable of organizing the games scheduled to take place hence calling off such an exercise.

So how does the Minister smartly communicate such untruth that the GFA on its own volition halted football activities?

The Minister also surprisingly got it wrong in communicating the date they met FIFA in Zurich. The meeting took place on June 29. This has been authenticated by FIFA. So why did the Minister commit such blunder in an official statement.

That’s graveling and unpardonable. How could he have forgotten this?

And the minister failed to address why they believe the application to liquidate the GFA at the High Court is not tantamount to undue influence as FIFA stated.

The statement does nothing to tackle that.

Its however evident, that the Minister is befuddled, ill-advised and proudly displaying arrogance and ignorance.

The statement he signed and released yesterday is highly unnecessary and irrelevant. He could have saved us more time and instead carefully study proceedings and strategically churn out a better one.

This is certainly another own goal by government. Enough of the chicanery as its time to get serious.

FIFA has been tolerant enough!!!

Source: Michael Asare Boadu
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