By Rachel Kakraba
Founder of COSUA, a Support Union, Sarfo Abebrese, says newly introduced E-ticketing initiative needs some perfection if Ghana is to make any positive gains with it. He noted its implementation during the Ghana-Nigeria World Cup play off in Kumasi was bedevilled with challenges as the machines broke down resulting in some chaos at the gates.
Mr. Abebrese made recommendations when he appeared on the GTV Sports+ programme “Saving our Passion” which discussed the role of supporters, otherwise known as 12th player of any game.
He noted that challenges encountered during the piloting is worrying especially as Supporters’ Unions go the extra mile to ensure supporters are well represented at the Stadium to cheer the team on.
In recognizing the crucial role Supporters bring to a game, Mr. Abebrese said it is important to ensure their access to the Stadia is in a hassle free manner.
“For us Ghana-Nigeria game was a big deal for us. We needed to get Ghana to sail through, so we put everything into it, and then the fans get to the gates and they cannot enter and it is choked and people stampede and all that so we need to perfect the system”.
The E-Ticketing concept is the government’s new strategy aimed at making it easier and convenient for football fans to purchase match tickets online and have quick access to numerous match venues around the country.
It was piloted during the first leg encounter of the FIFA World Cup qualifying playoffs between Ghana and Nigeria in Kumasi on 25th March 2022.
Mr. Abebrese observed that challenges encountered could be attributed to the fact that the leadership underestimated the numbers the match would be pulling.
He said such situation undermines hard work of some stakeholders such as Supporters Union.
“A lot of my people were telling me, we are tired we are going back, because it was choked outside. I think one of the reasons is that we were not expecting that kind of turn out in Kumasi. I think officialdom had underestimated the work that some of us had done in the Ashanti Region, in Kumasi for people to patronize that game”.
He asked authorities to use the impending African Cup of Nations, AFCON qualifiers to perfect the E-ticketing System, as “it was hellish” when it was used during the Ghana-Nigeria Match.
“Now we are also in the AFCON and we’re expected to play a lot of qualifiers, I think that going forward if we are going to stick to the Electronic Ticketing System we have to perfect it, the machine it has to be very very sharp”.
Meanwhile, the Minister for Youth and Sports, Mustapha Ussif, has declared that the E-Tickets will become the order of the day after successful piloting.
