Over the years, the major leagues begin well with Ghanaian football lovers flocking to fill pubs and bars as if they have a date to honour with these foreign football leagues. The Barclays English Premier League (EPL) said to be the most exciting has stowed away Ghanaian soccer fans to pull on replica jerseys of the formers clubs. Factually, local football supporters are slapped with entertainment without pain. In other words Ghana stands to loose gate proceeds when this seasons league begins. Though this has been the trend over some period now, the zest of support for local football is said to be waning, but it is firmly hidden in foreign football leagues. Surprisingly, there has been no visible intent to stem this tied. Ghanaian football authorities are at their wits end to shred the support base of local soccer. Any doubt?
It is imperative to note that, the Professional League Board (PLB), has over the decades refused to reform the local football calendar. Likewise, has the PLB thought of starting the Premier League on time before foreign football swoops on the interest of Ghanaian football followers. Local football clubs pay through their noses to maintain teams. These clubs play in virtually empty stadiums, with arms thrown up in despair as to how to defeat the potent threat of foreign footballs’ venom. Efforts to boost attendance seem not to be in sight.
Nevertheless, kits used by football clubs in Ghana stands with many deficits. Names are not inscribed at the back of jerseys. Besides, some of these jerseys are worked out, hence, not colourful to please. The few who flock the stadiums are hand full, age-old supporters of clubs, or those who skip over the walls to freely enjoy the sweat of the field actors. Comparatively, Ghana Premier football teams are shabbily dressed to those of international clubs. These foreign clubs pursue football as a product, to which they give it all the marketing care it deserves. To the Ghanaian football authority, what is football? Is it only about entertainment? Most often, players of Ghanaian teams appear on pitches, as if conscripted to duty, running around without tactical formation and discipline.
Sierra Leone has suffered a total league collapse affecting that country’s fortune in football. The stadia meant for football matches turned out for the purposes of political rallies and religious crusades. What a wrong usage of an edifice of the beautiful game. Thank God, the Ghana Football Association (GFA) has up till now not shown any puns in paying bonuses to the national team players. But while Sierra Leone football authorities struggled to pay bonuses, that country’s citizens gladly fill cinema halls to dish out peanuts to watch top liners of foreign leagues. Especially, the English Premier League, (EPL). This was reported by a Sports Journalist, Joseph Sawan. Ghana Football stands at the ebbing risk to suffer same. No prophesy of doom. Let those within the confines of civility prick themselves and brood through. With just 50 pesewas or 1 Ghana cedi, top matches involving Michael Essien’s Chelsea and Manchester United could be served by cable networks, at cinema halls. Read between these few lines with a squint eye.
In spite of all these, our stadia are comparable to Chilean mines. Proclivity to violence is not in dispute, while perpetrators and their faceless morale boosters are royally offered save heavens every time. The image of Ghana football has over the years failed to respond to treatments of reprieve, foresight and dedication. Is Ghana Football Association GFA, waiting to see the total demise of our Premier League Football, before they look out for a miracle ‘man’ to come wake it up?
GFA should enquire from Ghana Airways now Ghana International Airlines (GA/GIA) how slowly patronage can dwindle, image can come crushing, and an airline can be run from offices without any visible evidence on tarmacs. The FA might equally run Ghana football from the GFA offices with rarely any real functional clubs. How many local players featured prominently in the 2010 African and World Cups? It attests to the quality of local materials available. God help Ghana Football. A call to make up for the 23 man squad without active role is logically similar to ignoring the local players.
Lets catalogue Ghana Football failed promises of attempts to success. When was the last time Ghana appeared at the Youth under 17 tournaments. Again, we could not qualify for the last Olympics. Ghana has lost the places for the number of Ghanaian Football clubs at the Confederation of Africa Footballs’ (CAF) continental competitions. Sadly it took place under our gazing eyes. What about the Ladies under-20 team who were in Germany 2010? Not even a wooden medal. Please pay heed to didactic, for the one the gods would destroy they first make proud. Ghana Football’s quality is fading like a material and sinking like a ship. The captain must be up to smile the roses. No intent to split hairs with an authority. It is time to get active. Releasing verbal brutes to defend the indefensible policies and as well make the untenable tenable will not change the dwindling fortunes of Ghana Football.
Although, a top United States Minister of God laid hand’s on an aircraft of the defunct Ghana Airways now Ghana International Airlines, yet you know what happened. Should it be repeated? Wait till it happens to Ghana Football. Then you would be a living witness of the beautiful game, turn ugly game in our part of the world. For those who would ebb to any depth to achieve their objective of being recognised by their paymasters to prove that Ghana football is colourful should goad. When the ship finally sinks the water will hit their feet. Should we wait?
Monday, May 2, 2011
Sunday, May 1, 2011
THE MODERN FOOTBALL OF GHANA
The Dispute Resolution Committee of the Ghana Football Association will begin the process of arbitration into a petition filed by Vincent Sowah Odotei to the Executive Committee over his candidature for election for the Presidency.
Also, the petition by Neil Armstrong-Mortagbe has been directed to the same body though no date has been fixed yet for the start of the arbitration process.
Both individuals filed separate notices with the Ex.Co, contesting the decision of the Elections Committee to disqualify their candidatures to contest for the office of the President.
The Ghana national football team, popularly known as the Black Stars, is the national association football team of Ghana and is controlled by the Ghana Football Association. Before gaining independence from Great Britain in 1957, the country played as the Gold Coast.
Although the team did not qualify for the senior FIFA World Cup until 2006, they had qualified for five straight Olympic Games Football Tournaments when the tournament was still a full senior national team competition. The team has won the Africa Cup of Nations four times (in 1963, 1965, 1978, and 1982), making Ghana the second most successful team in the contest's history, behind Egypt. The Olympic Team, the Black Meteors, in 1992 became the first African country to win a medal at football.
After going through 2005 unbeaten, Ghana won the FIFA most improved team of the year award and they reached the second round of the 2006 FIFA World Cup led by Serbian football coach, Ratomir Dujković.
At the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, they became the third African team in history to reach the World Cup quarter-finals.
The Ghana Amateur Football Association was founded in 1957, soon after the country's independence, and was affiliated to both CAF and FIFA the following year, Englishman George Ainsley being appointed coach of the national team.
In 1960 the Black Stars played Spanish giants Real Madrid, who were at the time Spanish, European and intercontinental champions, and drew 3–3.
Charles Kumi Gyamfi became coach in 1961, and Ghana won successive Africa Cup of Nations titles, in 1963 and 1965, and achieved their record win, 13–0 away to Kenya, shortly after the second of these. They also reached the final of the tournament in 1968 and 1970, losing 1–0 on each occasion, to DR Congo and Sudan respectively. Their domination of this tournament earned the country the nickname of "the Brazil of Africa" in the 1960s. The team had no success in FIFA World Cup qualification during this era, and failed to qualify for three successive African Cup of Nations in the 1970s, but qualified for the Olympic Games Football Tournaments, reaching the quarter finals in 1964 and withdrawing on political grounds in 1976 and but making little progress in continent-wide competitions until the appointment of Burkhard Ziese as coach in 1991.
A new generation of players who went to the 2001 FIFA World Youth Championship final became the core of the team at the 2002 African Cup of Nations and the 2004 Olympic Games, and were undefeated for a year in 2005 and reached the finals of the 2006 FIFA World Cup, the first time the team had reached the global stage of the tournament. Ghana started with a 2–0 defeat to eventual champions Italy, but wins over the Czech Republic (2–0) and USA (2–1) saw them through to the second round, where they were beaten 3–0 by Brazil.
The Black Stars went on to secure a 100 percent record in their qualification campaign, winning the group and becoming the first African team to qualify for 2010 FIFA World Cup. The World Cup Draw in Cape Town on the 4 December 2009 saw the Ghanaian team being placed alongside Germany, Serbia and Australia in Group D. They were able to reach the last 16 where they played the USA, defeating them 2–1 in extra time to become the third African nation to reach the World Cup quarter finals. They then lost on penalties to Uruguay in the quarter finals, having missed a penalty in extra time after a certain goal was saved off the line by Luis Suarez's deliberately parried handball who was then shown a red card for his action.
The Ghana Football Association is the governing body of football (soccer) in Ghana, based in Accra.
It is on record that the game of Football was introduced into the Gold Coast towards the close of the 19th century by Merchants from Europe, who had then invaded the coastal areas and built forts and castles to enhance their trading activities either in merchandise or human cargo. The sailors at their leisure times played football among themselves and sometimes with a select side of the indigenous people. The popularity of the game spread like wild fire within a short time along the coast culminating in the formation of the first football club, EXCELSIOR in 1903 by Mr. Briton, a Jamaican born British, who was then Head Teacher of Philip Quaicoe Government Boys School in Cape Coast. As the popularity of the game grew, other clubs along the coast, namely: Accra Hearts of Oak, Cape Coast Venomous Vipers, Cape Coast Mysterious Dwarfs, Sekondi Hasaacas and Sekondi Eleven Wise all amateur clubs were formed.
Also, the petition by Neil Armstrong-Mortagbe has been directed to the same body though no date has been fixed yet for the start of the arbitration process.
Both individuals filed separate notices with the Ex.Co, contesting the decision of the Elections Committee to disqualify their candidatures to contest for the office of the President.
The Ghana national football team, popularly known as the Black Stars, is the national association football team of Ghana and is controlled by the Ghana Football Association. Before gaining independence from Great Britain in 1957, the country played as the Gold Coast.
Although the team did not qualify for the senior FIFA World Cup until 2006, they had qualified for five straight Olympic Games Football Tournaments when the tournament was still a full senior national team competition. The team has won the Africa Cup of Nations four times (in 1963, 1965, 1978, and 1982), making Ghana the second most successful team in the contest's history, behind Egypt. The Olympic Team, the Black Meteors, in 1992 became the first African country to win a medal at football.
After going through 2005 unbeaten, Ghana won the FIFA most improved team of the year award and they reached the second round of the 2006 FIFA World Cup led by Serbian football coach, Ratomir Dujković.
At the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, they became the third African team in history to reach the World Cup quarter-finals.
The Ghana Amateur Football Association was founded in 1957, soon after the country's independence, and was affiliated to both CAF and FIFA the following year, Englishman George Ainsley being appointed coach of the national team.
In 1960 the Black Stars played Spanish giants Real Madrid, who were at the time Spanish, European and intercontinental champions, and drew 3–3.
Charles Kumi Gyamfi became coach in 1961, and Ghana won successive Africa Cup of Nations titles, in 1963 and 1965, and achieved their record win, 13–0 away to Kenya, shortly after the second of these. They also reached the final of the tournament in 1968 and 1970, losing 1–0 on each occasion, to DR Congo and Sudan respectively. Their domination of this tournament earned the country the nickname of "the Brazil of Africa" in the 1960s. The team had no success in FIFA World Cup qualification during this era, and failed to qualify for three successive African Cup of Nations in the 1970s, but qualified for the Olympic Games Football Tournaments, reaching the quarter finals in 1964 and withdrawing on political grounds in 1976 and but making little progress in continent-wide competitions until the appointment of Burkhard Ziese as coach in 1991.
A new generation of players who went to the 2001 FIFA World Youth Championship final became the core of the team at the 2002 African Cup of Nations and the 2004 Olympic Games, and were undefeated for a year in 2005 and reached the finals of the 2006 FIFA World Cup, the first time the team had reached the global stage of the tournament. Ghana started with a 2–0 defeat to eventual champions Italy, but wins over the Czech Republic (2–0) and USA (2–1) saw them through to the second round, where they were beaten 3–0 by Brazil.
The Black Stars went on to secure a 100 percent record in their qualification campaign, winning the group and becoming the first African team to qualify for 2010 FIFA World Cup. The World Cup Draw in Cape Town on the 4 December 2009 saw the Ghanaian team being placed alongside Germany, Serbia and Australia in Group D. They were able to reach the last 16 where they played the USA, defeating them 2–1 in extra time to become the third African nation to reach the World Cup quarter finals. They then lost on penalties to Uruguay in the quarter finals, having missed a penalty in extra time after a certain goal was saved off the line by Luis Suarez's deliberately parried handball who was then shown a red card for his action.
The Ghana Football Association is the governing body of football (soccer) in Ghana, based in Accra.
It is on record that the game of Football was introduced into the Gold Coast towards the close of the 19th century by Merchants from Europe, who had then invaded the coastal areas and built forts and castles to enhance their trading activities either in merchandise or human cargo. The sailors at their leisure times played football among themselves and sometimes with a select side of the indigenous people. The popularity of the game spread like wild fire within a short time along the coast culminating in the formation of the first football club, EXCELSIOR in 1903 by Mr. Briton, a Jamaican born British, who was then Head Teacher of Philip Quaicoe Government Boys School in Cape Coast. As the popularity of the game grew, other clubs along the coast, namely: Accra Hearts of Oak, Cape Coast Venomous Vipers, Cape Coast Mysterious Dwarfs, Sekondi Hasaacas and Sekondi Eleven Wise all amateur clubs were formed.
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