Sports
Ghana FA asked to hold extra ordinary congress … to fix football statutes
Owner of Division One League (DOL) side Techiman City FC, Charles Kwadwo Ntim, has called on the Ghana Football Association (GFA) to immediately hold an extra ordinary congress so they can clean the statutes governing football in the country – before the game is brought back.
According to him, this is the only way sanity can be brought back into the game when the government and the FA finally decide to return it from the COVID-19 break.
The GFA has set June 30 to decide on the next step to take regarding return of the game.
However, the football administrator, who is known in football circles as Mickey Charles, believes rather than thinking of bringing football back in the shortest possible time, the FA should deal with the confusing statutes it is faced with presently before going ahead with plans of returning football.
“I am saddened by the posture of the FA hierarchy towards a proposal that we all agreed to during the Extra-Ordinary Congress held on September 5, 2019 at the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Ridge, Accra.
“At that meeting, we all decided to adopt the revised GFA Statutes put forward by the Normalisation Committee (NC) en bloc, so as not to delay the road-map to the elective congress after which we will go back and go through them and, expunge the ones which we feel are not right for our game.”
He noted that this was after the Ghana League Clubs Associations (GHALCA) had been prevailed upon to backtrack for the same reason after its seven-member committee to review the Normalization Committee’s (NC) proposed statutes to the Federation of International Football Association (FIFA), had issues with the proposed statutes.
“Now, I feel some of the members who led us to accept the road-map to the elective congress have found their way onto the Executive Committee of the GFA, hence forgetting about what the plan was before the congress,” he lamented.
“These ambiguous statutes we accepted came back to bite us during the league as Medeama SC and Accra Great Olympics are before the Appeals Committee at the moment battling a decision by the Disciplinary Committee to award three points to Olympics, and deducting Medeama SC for fielding an unqualified player (Nana Kofi Babil) in their match-day 12 game.”
Mickey Charles quizzed: “Are we going to continue the league from where whistle-blowers have gone to give the General Secretary of the GFA, acting as an ex-officio member, information which he shall use to take decisions against clubs that have gone against certain ambiguous decisions of the GFA, in the area of fielding unqualified players?
“I believe our game has grown beyond such issues and we need to immediately clean our statutes before thinking of returning football. We must not return football with these chaotic statutes,” he told Asempa FM.
According to him, if the FA is not willing to do the needful, then the onus falls on the Ghana League Clubs Association (GHALCA) to lead the way.
“I am urging the welfare body (GHALCA) to call for a meeting so we can pass a resolution and write to the General Secretary of the FA to call for an Extra Ordinary congress to address these anomalies in our statutes,” he added.
Source: Ghanaian Times
Attention will be at the Golden City Park in Berekum tomorrow as Hearts of Oak lock horns with Berekum Chelsea FC in a Ghana Premier League Matchday 6 game that promises an electrifying atmosphere.
Lying sixth on the league table with two wins and three draws, the Phobians visit a ground that has been favourable to them in recent times. In their last three visits to the Golden City Park, Hearts have amassed seven out of nine points, putting them in strong contention to win.
Head Coach Mas-Ud Didi Dramani says, “The team is making progress in its tactical identity despite the lack of goals, and this is something we are working on ahead of this game.”
Hearts will come face-to-face with former coach Samuel Boadu, whose side lies a distant 13th on the league table with a win and a draw from four games. Coach Boadu is yet to celebrate a victory over the Phobians since joining the Berekum lads and would hope this fixture marks a turnaround.
Ninth-placed Vision FC would trek to the Nana Fosu Gyeabour Park in Bechem to play Bechem United, while new boys Hohoe United host Aduana FC at the Hohoe Sports Stadium.
Returnees Swedru All Blacks will welcome Basake Holy Stars to the Swedru Sports Stadium, with defending league champions Bibiani Gold Stars staying put at their backyard, the Dun’s Park, to welcome second-placed Heart of Lions FC on Monday.
Today at the TnA Stadium in Tarkwa, Medeama SC will clash with Samartex FC in a Western derby. Other games scheduled for today would see Eleven Wonders FC host Karela United at the Swedru Sports Stadium, while Dreams FC face Nations FC at the Tuba Astro Turf.
By Raymond Ackumey
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Ghana coach Otto Addo may not command the kind of fear and respect like Pep Guardiola, Jose Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti, Luis Enrique and others in the modern game, but in his small corner, he is gradually climbing the ladder to greatness in Ghana, Africa and the world at large.
The aforementioned coaches attained greatness with club sides and, therefore, open an argument over whether one is not comparing apples to oranges. But no matter how one looks at it, they are all coaches harbouring similar ambitions to attain greatness in their fields.
Otto Addo is one of the young and upcoming coaches holding a lot of promise and was getting experience with his association with Borussia Dortmund in Germany until his path was directed by a Ghana call.
Although he was born in Germany, Otto Addo’s association with Ghana football dates back to 1999, spanning a period of about seven years; commencing with a 5–0 rout of Eritrea on February 28. He gained international prominence when he joined the squad for the 2000 African Cup of Nations. He featured as a midfielder in the team for the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
But like it’s often said, a prophet is not recognised in his own home and his efforts partially went unnoticed. He’ll go into the annals as one of the Black Stars coaches to have been fairly or otherwise criticised not just by ‘football people’ but fans who doubted him.
His sack has been discussed at various platforms by people whose knowledge and tactical acumen about the game remains questionable. Ghana’s Minister for Sports and Recreation, Mr Kofi Adams, at one point openly stated his doubts over Otto Addo’s ability to actually deliver.
No coach would feel secured in such turbulent times, but coach Otto Addo kept his calm and composure. On the corridors of his employers, however, the Ghana Football Association (GFA) president, Kurt Okraku, openly rallied support for him, though a few ‘doubting Thomases’ still questioned his credentials.
That painted a picture of a people that forget easily and are quick to crucify. In a brief moment of adversity, Ghanaians forgot how Otto Addo was brought in to pluck qualification for the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup from the jaws of the Super Eagles of Nigeria with a solitary goal over two legs.
The upshot of that feat was not one any Nigerian would want to remember. The scenes after the match were awfully chaotic, as fans vented their anger on facilities at the stadium. Back in Ghana, it was partying all night and day.
Otto Addo was labeled the football magician. He achieved something no Ghanaian coach had ever accomplished; a feat which Ghana with her all-time best teams could not attain. That was the climax to which Otto Addo took Ghana football, generating calls to start believing in the Ghanaian coach.
Following that to the World Cup proper was another story altogether. It was, or may have been, our poorest show at any of the four World Cup appearances. And just as it was stipulated in his contract, he bowed out after the Qatar World Cup to mind his Borussia Dortmund business with peace.
But as fate would have it, nature found a way to renew his romance with Ghana football after an unconvincing start to the America, Canada and Mexico dream World Cup under special advisor turned coach, Chris Hughton.
Ghana started the qualifiers on a winning note but not a convincing performance. It was saved by an Inaki Williams goal scored on the sixth minute of additional time against Madagascar at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium. The Black Stars then slumped to a 1-0 defeat at the Stade de Moroni to Comoros to heighten calls for a new technical direction.
Then stepped in Otto Addo when Ghana occupied the fourth position in Group I with three points but with the countries in the group evenly matched.
By Andrew Nortey
