GFA Congress March 15

The Ghana Football Association has set March 15 as the tentative date for its much-awaited Congress. It is thus using this week to clear all outstanding issues to pave the way for the dated Congress.

The Association’s General Secretary Kofi Nsiah, who told the Soccer Express of the date, described this week as ‘a very busy week’ for the Association owing to the number and nature of issues to be tackled.

The issues being looked at include the famous case of Obuasi Goldfields’ points deduction and the subsequent court ruling that ordered the restoration of the club to its accumulated points, issues still pending before the various committees; Disciplinary, Appeals, Division One League Board and the Professional League Board as well as the Premier League Table and the date for the Middle League play off.

The week is also crucial for beyond it, the FA could be pushing its luck too far when the current management mandate, already extended by the Executive Council for three months, expires by March ending. The Association needs to serve its members no less than four weeks notice before Congress and by the 15th March date it has perhaps only next week to serve that notice. Kofi Nsiah told the Soccer Express that the solution-finding meetings were to start yesterday and would continue throughout the week to make sure all knotty points are cleared.

But Ghanaians clamouring for change in the rules and regulations governing the local game may have Obuasi Goldfields to thank for the delayed Congress. A search at the FA yesterday yielded only one memorandum from the Brong Ahafo Regional Football Association proposing some amendments in the area of player registration, protest management and deposit of rules, regulations and constitutions by clubs before the start of any season.

Without any memos proposing appropriate recommendations for specific changes in the rulebook, Congress would have no mandate to discuss let alone effect changes thought to be needed for improving the game.

According to Nsiah, it is not too late yet for the Association to receive proposals which could still be sent in latest by a fortnight to Congress, however the response, particularly against the backdrop of the myriad protests cases mostly dealing with player qualification that were recorded in the past season, it is amazing why the low interest.

The Ghana League Clubs Association’s Administrative Manager, Cudjoe Fianoo told the Express that no proposals have been put forward yet by the association owing to the pressures of the Coca-Cola Top Four it is organising and may offer help after the tournament.

The most important agenda for the Congress is the election of a new FA management board following the expiry of the term of the Ben Koufie led management board.

Though Koufie has stated unequivocally that he is departing for good the fate of second government nominee, Abedi Ayew Pele hangs in the balance. The former African Footballer of the year has been diametrically opposed to government’s aspirations of flirting with Confederation of African Football boss, Issa Hayatou in order to win the bid to host CAN 2008.

Abedi failed in his bid to win a seat on the CAF Executive Committee and his mentor Ismael Bhamjee slumped to a disturbing loss in his challenge for the CAF top seat. It would be interesting to see how government will position itself on Pele who is still a special soccer ambassador for Ghana.

Names like Dr. Kofi Amoah, Oheneba Charles and recently, Dr. Nyaho Tamakloe have cropped up as possible nominees for the FA top job, but with congress date now public the jockeying for positions will take a more frenzied dimension.