The Chairman of the Ghana Football Association (GFA), Ben Kwofie, has asked the press to help his administration with constructive criticisms and not to wait until something went wrong before post engaging in mortem examinations.
Answering a question on the Association's relationship with the press on a Radio BAR programme in Sunyani which centred on the GFA's Five-year football development plan the GFA boss emphasised that the exercise to find what went wrong has never helped in any way in the country's development.
Kwofie recalled the Association's meeting with the press in Accra on the issue of the Black Stars' former expatriate coach Milan Zivadinovic, and expressed dissatisfaction with the stand taken by some journalists on the issue.
On his perception of intermittent change of football coaches, especially for the Black Stars, Kwofie blamed this on the unusual criticisms by followers of the sport in the country. Anytime our Black Stars fail to move well under a local coach, Ghanaians cry for a foreign coach and when the performance of the expatriate coach also falls below expectation the same critics retreat and cry for yet a local coach.
The GFA Chairman described that tendency on the part of some of sports critics as "funny" and asked them to exercise restraint "because our local coaches, if given the chance, can pass the test."
On incentives, Kwofie conceded that Ghanaian coaches did not receive the needed support as their foreign counterparts did. This issue of incentive for foreign coaches is not peculiar to Ghana, but in the whole of Africa and even some parts of Europe.
He cited the case of a foreign national coach for England who had to be offered a special incentive. The GFA Chairman emphasised that the on-going training courses for administrators, football coaches and referees was part of the Development Plan to get qualified coaches and administrators to work effectively.
He said the School of Excellence, to be established alongside the Plan would be operating as the shadow of the national teams for all the four age groups. On outstanding matches in the Premier League, Kwofie said experience had shown that some teams used the formula as a fertile ground to fix matches.
Professional League Board (PLB), GFA, and Ghana League Clubs Association (GHLCA) have thought it expedient to halt the practice, hence anytime the need arises for a club to engage in an international assignment, the whole league would be suspended, Kwofie said.
On the fate of the Division One League (DOL), Kwofie expressed confidence that, "it will be played by all means to fulfill the relegation programme, especially in the Premier League competition."
He revisited the allegation of bribe-taking by him during the World Cup qualifying match in Nigeria and said in his 41 years as a football administrator it would be bad for him to stoop so low to indulge in such an act.
In an apparent reference to newspaper reports on the alleged bribery scandal, Kwofie said: "if you have a Press to orchestrate my good intention to mean bad then I am afraid this country is be heading to doom."
E.K. Afranie, acting National Coach of the Black Stars in an answer to a question said the fate of Osei Kuffour should be left in the hands of the GFA. The GFA is not in to victimise any player. If Osei Kuffour shows remorse for what he did in Mali there will be nothing wrong to invite him to play for Ghana, Coach Afranie added
