GFA members in Cairo for Club Licensing Instructors seminar

Five Ghana Football Association officials Alex Asante, Francis Oti Akenteng, Mas-ud Didi Dramani, Anthony Baffoe and Emmanuel Newton Dasoberi are in Cairo for the Club Licensing Instructors seminar.

CAF President Ahmad opened a two-day programme on Wednesday.

Ahmad has charged participants to bring their knowledge and expertise to bear towards the development of football on the continent.

He described the Club Licensing System as a key tool for the development of the continental game in the quest to professionalize clubs in line with modern trends of the game.

“This seminar will help enhance the capacities of our instructors, who will impart the knowledge and expertise to the various stakeholders. It will be beneficial to our clubs to grow, which will in a long way help the raise the standard of the game on the continent.

“Our continent is faced with challenges and it is only through such seminars that we can find solutions to develop our game,” the CAF President said.

The objective of the seminar amongst others is to discuss the first phase of the Club Licensing Seminars at the National Level, and also to prepare for the next phase of the seminars at the level of the Member Associations.

It will also set the pace for the launch of the Club Licensing inspection visits later in the year.

Welcoming the participants, CAF Executive Committee member, Isha Johansen, said the seminar provides a platform for feedback on the maiden edition in April 2015, and also to equip new members of the Instructors Panel for the 2017-2019 cycle.

“CAF truly hope that the Club Licensing System will become not just a tool for development, but the root, where the seeds of the legends in our continent will be born and nurtured. It must stem from this level,” said Ms. Johansen, also a member of the CAF Club Licensing Committee and president of the Sierra Leone Football Association.

The participants, over 60, are drawn from the three arms of Club Licensing namely Administrative, Legal and Financial; Infrastructure and Sporting.

There are also representatives from the world soccer governing body, FIFA, and other Confederations – UEFA, AFC and CONCACAF, and partners such as FIFPro, to exchange ideas and share experiences with their African counterparts.

The Club Licensing System took off in Africa in 2014 and since then more than 40 National Associations have organized national seminars geared towards its implementation.