Upper East P.E. chief bemoans lack of funds for football development

The Upper East Regional physical education coordinator, Mr.

Awiah Thomas, has blamed the region’s inability to raise a club which can

qualify for the elite division of Ghanaian league football on a lack of

adequate financial support for football teams in the region.

This was disclosed in an interview with URA Radio S ports in

Bolgatanga, the Upper East Region capital. According to the Regional P.E. Coordinator,

the main problem bedeviling teams has been the unavailability of investment in

the game by the wealthy and affluent in the region.

“Without money you cannot have a very good team to compete

with others in the Division One League. Running football these days involves a

lot of money and I believe when people with financial power begin to invest in

our game, it will enable us put up a team that can face the rest in the Division

One League through the Middle League and thus eventually qualify to the Premier

League,” Mr. Awuah said.

He quizzed: “How can we get the required results if we don’t

have the resources to motivate our players very well?”

He added: The moment we start to put money into the sport in

this region, trust me, we will get Premier League club.”

The experienced physical education instructor furthermore

explained his insistence that the region from which Ghana’s widely acclaimed

greatest ever footballer Abedi Pele hails, abounds in very good quality players

who can play at the highest level of Ghanaian league football.

“We don’t have any problem with good players because this

region abounds in very talented quality players who if they are groomed

together very well, can take a club from the region into the Glo league,” Thomas

Awiah argued.

He continued: “There are a lot of player from here who are

currently playing in the league and are doing pretty well for their clubs. You

can talk of the likes of Atia Sumaila of Medeama SC, Fatawu Mohammed of Asante

Kotoko, Peter Tibila of Ebusua Dwarfs and Seidu Salifu Zida who plays for Wa All

Stars and was part of the 2011 national under 20 team, Black Satellites,

just to mention a few.”

Upper East remains the only region in this country yet to taste

Premier League football, meaning football fans in the region have to travel all

the way to the Tamale Stadium if they want to watch Ghana top flight league

action.

The region currently has two teams in the national division

one league with 34 teams competing in the regional division two leagues.