President Kurt Edwin Simeon-Okraku delivered a powerful message of hope as he rallied support for Ghana Football during an interactive and heart-warming edition of the GFA's 'Meet The Press' Series held in Sunyani on Friday August 9, 2024.
In a well attended event hosted at the Eusbett Hotel, the President urged for collaborative efforts between the media and the Ghana Football Association for the forward march of football in the country.
In a detailed address to the media in Sunyani, President Simeon-Okraku touched on several areas of interest including, but not limited to sponsorship, support for clubs, financial sustainability, refereeing, acts of violence, youth development, Catch Them Young Referee policy, Premier League media rights and betting.
The President also touched on Governance, Competitions, Coach Education, the new-look Technical Centre at Bolgatanga and Prampram, implementation of Football Strategy, support for RFAs', National Teams, Youth Competitions, Registration of juvenile players, use of social media and Parliamentarians who have taken interest in investing in football directly.
President Edwin Simeon-Okraku also used the opportunity to address allegations levelled against his administration relating to perceived influencing of Referees and perceived bias in the decision to divide the National Division One Zone 1 into two subzones.
He stated that every policy of the Football Association is targeted at the greater good of the game.
"I stand for Ghana Football. The Exco stands for Ghana Football and not for individual Clubs. Whatever polices we make, or decisions we take are for the greater good," he said
"The claim that the GFA or myself control or have interest in referees are completely false and must be disregarded. It's just a creation of a non-existent theory."
While admonishing media practitioners to be circumspect and get acquainted with the laws of the game and their interpretation, the President asked the media to help him to educate Football fans to curb hooliganism which has no place in football, and to protect the Ghana Football brand.
"Under no circumstance should a referee lose his life for getting a decision wrong. Let's take hooliganism in any form out of our game. The product is supreme. We should hold and protect the product,"
"We must also be abreast with the laws and their interpretation because what you say impacts the emotions and opinion of supporters and largely contributes to some of the negative vibes around our domestic league."
He underscored the vital role played by the media in creating an enabling environment for football to thrive and urged stakeholders to uphold the tenet of honesty.
"Without the media, we cannot create the enabling environment for footballers and administrators to deliver football and footballing products. We must be honest. And being honest is the way forward for all of us."
"At club level, no money is small money. We have to be clever on how we can deliver our football platforms for people to be interested in them."
He also said the Executive Council of the Ghana Football Association is working hard to put the National Division One League (DOL) Live on television.
"The vision of the Executive Council of the GFA is to put the National Division One League on TV. We are working extremely hard towards achieving that."
Ahead of the engagement with the media, President Simeon-Okraku paid a visit to the Brong Ahafo Regional Football Association (BARFA) Secretariat where he met with the Regional Chairman, his Executive Committee and staff of the Secretariat.
The President will also meet with Premier, Women and Division One League Clubs from the region to discuss ways in which the FA could be of greater help to them.
The GFA's decision to hold the session in Sunyani highlights the Association's efforts to engage with all Football regions across the country to foster greater transparency and inclusivity in its operations.
This is the second time the President will be engaging the media in the 'Meet The Press' series after the first one was held in Kumasi back in February 2024.
GFA Communications