Sports
Let the referees’ cash flow
A PROPOSED amendment to extend the presidential term of the Ghana Football Association (GFA) obviously dominated conversations in the build up to the association’s 31st Ordinary Congress held at the Ghanaman Soccer Centre of Excellence in Prampram on Tuesday.
That particular move was very much criticised by people mostly outside the association.
The FA President, Kurt Okraku, was vilified and maligned by people hostile to the proposal, citing reasons including a desire to extend his stay in office although he was yet to make any such decision publicly.
But can the critics be faulted for their stance on the proposal? Obviously, the answer can be either yes or no.
That notwithstanding, football people voted massively at the Congress with about 10 voting against and abstaining. A total of 114 voted for the extension, indicating that the football people loves the idea.
In the next two years left on the current term, the unending conversation would switch to whether Okraku would consider a third term, a decision believed to have fuelled the proposal, or whether he would bow out.
However, Okraku’s response to whether he intends to continue or not must lay to rest the issue for now to digest some goodies announced at the Congress.
At a post Congress presser, Okraku stated that discussion on whether he would continue or not was premature.
That of course should apply the brakes on the discussion of the tenure extension to scrutinise some of the seemingly pleasant packages announced at the Congress.
The reward package announced for Ghana Premier League (GPL) was not just a novelty but very rewarding and mouthwatering.
For the first time in the history of the GPL, every club is set to pocket an amount of GH¢1m before kickoff.
Additionally, a total of GH¢9.5 million would be shared among the best performing teams in the competition, with the winners all the way to the 15th position expected to smile to bank after the season.
According to Mr Okraku, the winner of the 2025-26 Ghana Premier League (GPL) would get GH¢2 million while the runner-up would get GH¢1million.
The new merit award would also have the third place team receive GH¢800,000; fourth-placed team GH¢750,000; fifth placed-team GH¢700,000 and sixth-place team getting GH¢600,000.
Seventh-place team will pocket GH¢650,000; eighth-place team GH¢550,000; ninth placed-team GH¢500,000; 10th -place team GH¢450,000; 11th place team GH¢400,000; 12th place team GH¢350,000; 13th-place team GH¢300,000; 14th-place team GH¢250,000 and 15th-place taking GH¢200,000.
The good news is that the referees – who play an integral role in the success or otherwise of the competition, were not left out of the new FA windfall.
Beginning the 2025/26 football season, all 280 referees across the three major leagues –GPL, Division One League (DOL) and Women Premier League (WPL); will enjoy a huge insurance cover as individuals, as a group, critical illness, against permanent disability, medical expenses, and workmen’s compensation, among others.
What probably might interest the referees the more was the announcement of an enhanced financial incentive.
FIFA referees would be paid GH¢2,500.00 per game, while non-FIFA referees receive GH¢2,000.00 per game for GPL games. DOL and WPL referees will each take home GH¢1, 000.00.
In addition to these, referees will continue to enjoy a 50 per cent discount on travels via the FA’s partnership with STC plus other incentives.
Okraku’s administration deserves a pat on the shoulder for realising the need to bolster the referees who have often gone about their activities under very grim circumstances with many complaining of non-payment of their allowances.
Announcing these incentives must not just be a rhetoric. The FA must ensure that funds are readily available to make sure they are paid on time.
It is the hope of many that the stories about referees depending on their partners or friends as well as club officials before honouring their roles should be something of the past.
That would be the only way to sustain the hype around these incentives and justify the actions of football people that voted for the amendments that sought to suggest that Kurt Okraku is on his way to a third term.
By Andrew Nortey
Ghana Premier League leaders, Medeama SC, will welcome Karela United to the TnA Stadium in Tarkwa tomorrow, in a Matchday 20 game with the aim to stretch the lead.
Medeama SC, the 2022/23 champions, are aiming to win the title for the second time in their history and, rightly so, have opened a seven-point gap.
Coach Ibrahim Tanko and his charges have been at their marauding best both home and away, recording 40 points from 19 games.
They go into tomorrow’s game with high hopes of avenging the only defeat suffered this season, which came at the hands of Karela United.
For Karela, who are eighth on the table, a double over the leaders will help their push for a top-four finish this season.
Defending league champions and second-place team, Bibiani Gold Stars, will trek to the Berekum Golden City Park to play as guests of struggling Berekum Chelsea tomorrow, with sight set on closing the gap on the leaders.
The Baba Yara Sports Stadium will come alive as striker Albert Amoah leads his Asante Kotoko side to tackle Basake Holy Stars.
Asante Kotoko have lost three games this season including a painful 2-1 defeat to Holy Stars in the first-round tie.
In other games, the University of Ghana Stadium will today host the Eleven Wonders versus Accra Hearts of Oak match; the Swedru Stadium will host Swedru All Blacks FC and Aduana FC; the Nana Fosu Gyeabour Park in Bechem is venue for Bechem United and Heart of Lions; while the Hohoe Stadium play host to the Hohoe United and Vision FC clash; and the Nsenkyire Sports Arena hosting the Samartex FC versus Nations FC game.
BY RAYMOND ACKUMEY
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It’s less than a week since the 2025 AFCON ended in Morocco.
For those that had the privilege to watch it via television, it may have gone into the competition’s annals as one of the best in terms of organisation.
But for the ‘yen bo biom’ (match abandonment) ‘excellently’ staged by the eventual winners, Senegal’s Terranga Lions, AFCON 2025 was beautifully staged and was incident free.
But in the social media age, it is extremely difficult to get every incident wrapped under a cover of darkness.
Videos showed a mix-up at the goal area of Senegal arising from a towel placed near the goal post by goalkeeper Mendy.
But almost a week after, two countries – eventual winners Senegal and Ghana, a non-participant, are still celebrating the gains from the championship.
Streets of Senegal have been filled with fans who wants to catch a glimpse of their heroes.
The victory marked the second time Senegal have been crowned AFCON champions, having won the competition for the first time in 2022.
Characteristic with teams’ success in Africa, they have been handsomely rewarded.
Senegal president, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, has announced that each member of the AFCON winning squad will be awarded a plot of land on the country’s coastline.
Additionally, each player will receive 75 million CFA francs ($134,000; £100,000).
In Ghana, FIFA Referee and Video Assistant Referee (VAR), Daniel Laryea, has become a cult hero with his encouraging performance, especially in the semifinal game between neighbours Nigeria and Morocco.
Last week, this column amply celebrated him and ordinarily, one would expect the focus to shift; and rightly so, the focus is actually not on him but referees of the Ghana Premier League (GPL) whose action, if not sanctioned, could ruin the gains and image credibility Laryea won for Ghana.
A number of clubs have been complaining recently about the state of officiating in the GPL as others threaten to boycott if the situation does not improve.
Kotoko was among the complainants after a decent goal in their game against Gold Stars was disallowed for a very funny reason.
An incident was also reported from Tema where a referee changed a decision to disallow a goal after watching a video of how the goal was scored on a Smart Phone of a fan.
Those reports, the success story of Daniel Laryea and a call by the Vice President of the Ghana Football Association, Mr Mark Addo on referees to aim higher has occasioned this opinion piece, to perhaps remind referees of their responsibilities in making the game attractive in Ghana and the duty of the FA to crack the whip on erring referees.
The FA Vice President, in presenting FIFA badges to 23 Ghanaian referees including Laryea for the 2026 football season, saying that, “I urge you (referees) to keep your heads high. There is a lot of expectation on you, and you must work hard to maintain the standards required”.
He continued: “Aspire for greatness and aim to become world-class referees. How you are perceived when your name comes up matters. Impartiality, fairness and top-class performance must always guide your work.”
In the face of what is happening, Addo’s call was appropriate and straight to the point.
Referees are vital cogs in the football ecosystem and their doing and undoing could make or unmake the efforts put in by a club. What can be more frustrating than a club scoring a genuine goal to be disallowed wrongly?
Many years ago when Asante Kotoko felt cheated and no one listen to them, they staged ‘ye bo biom’ which should not have a place in football. Senegal has just added an international dimension to it.
This is why the FA must sit up and check the names of referees which are becoming synonymous with undesirable officiating against some particular clubs.
By Andrew Nortey
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