A second look at FA’s U-19 directive

Kurt Okraku

 A new season of football festival will commence this weekend with high expectation from fans and stakeholders.

And when it does, one of the things to look out for would be the implementation of a directive at the recent 30th Extraordinary Congress of the Ghana Football Association (GFA) held at Prampram.

By the directive, clubs from the Premier League division through the Division One League (DOL) to Division 2 were mandated to include a number of U-19 players in their match day squads.

This may not be something new for the respective clubs. It has been captured in their discussions but without any clear commitment to it, the FA deemed it necessary to use the Congress platform in order to force it down the throats of the clubs.

Surprisingly, it appears the clubs at the moment have no reservations about the directive to gently compel them to include U-19 players in their match day squads.

It is either the clubs have not given it a considerable thought or would not want to put a dent on the atmosphere at the Prampram Congress which looked more like a carnival or festival for the ‘football people’ as they enjoy the feeling with the facelift of the facilities there.

Of course, every lover of football would applaud such an initiative that aims to strengthen football at the grassroots and serve as a bedrock for the teams at the top tier.

But with every major decision, there are bound to be a few nonconformist ideas not to scupper the entire but take a deeper look and ponder over the long term effects.

Under the new rules announced by FA President, Kurt Okraku, Premier League clubs will be required to include a minimum of four U-19 players in their match day squads, with at least two of them starting the game.

Division One League (DOL) clubs would be required to include six U-19 players in their match day squads, with three of these young players starting each game.

For Division Two clubs, the mandate is even more extensive. These clubs must include eight U-19 players in their match day squads, with four of them starting the game.

This measure is designed to accelerate the development of young players at the grassroots level, ensuring that they are ready for the demands of higher-level football as they progress in their careers.

President Simeon-Okraku explained that the directive was part of a broader strategy to enhance the overall quality of football in Ghana by focusing on youth development.

What the FA must also consider is what will become of juvenile leagues which naturally provides the platform for U-19s considering the numbers that would be consumed by clubs at the top three divisions.

In my view, the FA would have delivered a better arrangement by announcing a recompense for clubs that featured such players at the end of the season rather than forcing such arrangement on the clubs, some of who I suspect hide behind the directive to justify their poor performance.

In the spirit of competition, clubs should be allowed to field the very best in their fold and not be forced to drop top players to make space for U-19s just to make the FA happy.

Selection into match day squad should be on merit but by the Okraku directive, the hands of clubs are being forced to satisfy a particular rule.

It looks even more serious with the DOL and DTL levels where they have to start three and four U-19s, respectively. At best, it should be okay to have a few in their squads but issues about starting must either be justified or earned because the rule as it is brings memories from George Orwell’s Animal Farm.

 By Andrew Nortey