GFA Congress passes club licensing regulation

Congress of the Ghana Football Association ended Thursday with the adoption and passing of the Club Licensing Regulations.

The recommendations contained in the Club Licensing Regulations which at the last Extra-Ordinary Congress was referred back to the Committee for further work will be implemented in phases.


The Club Licensing Regulations are the basic working documents for member associations that incorporate the minimum requirements and guidelines for every criteria for compliance as a basis for the issuance of a license to any club.


According to the document, every club must fulfill requirements for a licence and these are divided into five categories (sporting, infrastructure, personnel and administrative, legal and ?nancial), with each category being split into three grades A-C (mandatory and best-practice recommendation).


By the road-map for implementation, Clubs in the Premier League will immediately commence by meeting certain requirements contained in the document.


For second tier Clubs, they will fully incorporate the document into their operations by the beginning of the 2013-14 season.


The first document to be passed on Thursday was the GFA Code of Ethics which regulates the organization and function of the bodies - Disciplinary Committee, Ethics Committee and Appeals Committee - responsible for taking decisions and the procedure to be followed.

Congress also passed a proposal from the Media Committee related to media issues for both Premier and Division One Leagues.


Amendments for the Division One League Board and certain rules governing the league was approved by Congress.


The National Juvenile Committee Rules and Regulations document, which deals with the organization and administration of juvenile football was also passed.


Also passed was the amendment proposed the Executive Committee for the affiliation fees for Premier League sides and Division One clubs. Clubs in the premiership will pay GHc5,000 whiles Division One League sides will pay GHc2,000.


Documents deferred included the Disciplinary Code, Amendments to the Rules and Regulations, Statutes and Audit Report.