Upcoming Ghana Football Association Elections

UPCOMING GHANA FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION, GFA ELECTIONS

 On the 25th of October 2019, about 120 delegates from the football fraternity will head to the polls to elect leaders who will steer the affairs of football administration in Ghana. The delegates will be casting their votes for Regional Football Administration, FA officers,12 Executive Council Member positions with the topmost of it all being the Presidency. After one week of opening and filing of nominations seven individuals showed interest in contesting for the presidential position. One female and six men. Four of the aspirants played huge roles in the erstwhile Kwesi Nyantakyi led administration. But after a vigorous vetting process one of the aspirants Mr. Wilfred Osei Kwaku, affectionately called Parmer, a bigwig of the last regime was ousted from the race following the verdict of the five-member vetting committee.

The former president led the football association for thirteen years making him the longest-serving president ever in the annals of Ghanaian football. Mr. Nyantakyi’s administration was dissolved following the number 12 investigative documentary by ace journalist, Anas Aremeyaw Anas. The video captured the President and other members of the Association plus referees whose actions and inactions contravene FIFA rules. The development thus plunged the entire football Administration and activities to a grinding halt.

In the last fifteen months, the country’s football has undergone myriad of reformation exercises under the FIFA’s Normalization Committee which includes running the day-to-day affairs of the FA, revising the statutes and it’s adoption and also to organize elections which will usher in a new administration to steer the affairs of football into a distinct threshold. It hasn’t been a smooth ride for the Normalization Committee in this period but at the end of it all the country made some giant strides thus bringing us to this point. Notwithstanding the challenges the Committee encountered, they have been focused and firm. Ghanaians will remember them dearly for their hard work and dedication towards the work they were mandated to execute.

As the football leaders are on their way to that crucial point of electing leaders for the Association it is vital to remind the delegates of how critical their decision would be in shaping Ghana’s football and reposition it as one of the greatest football nations in the world. They must exercise their franchise wisely.

The presentation of manifestos by the aspirants is one significant thing that characterized the upcoming elections which is very worth advocating, since it is the first time this is being done. The candidates thus far have demonstrated their competences in outlining their policies and ideas to Ghanaians on how they would want to develop football in the county. Delegates must be circumspect and prudent in their choice; history must guide them and they must not allow themselves to be coerced by anybody who offers money in return for their conscience which has been one of the major characteristics of elections in Ghana. Candidates are promising heaven on earth.

Much as we want our game to be regarded as the best in Africa, we must not be swayed by the lofty promises by the aspirants. They should be cognizant of the fact that the interest of the larger Ghanaian football populace is very paramount and should supersede every selfish personal interest. It is imperative for any of the aspirants who are canvassing for votes to have at the back of their minds how football-loving Ghanaians will be expecting them to change the face of the game by making the local league attractive and interesting at all levels.

The development of grassroots football should be deeply embedded in the plans of those who will emerge victorious. They would have to work to repair the blemished image of the Association to repose confidence in the next governing football body. We wish the delegates and the aspirants well in this crucial GFA elections.

SCRIPT IS WRITTEN BY NANA YAW PREKO BIMPEH – SPORTS JOURNALIST.