The President of the Ghana Football Association (GFA), Kurt Edwin Simeon-Okraku, met representatives of Premier, Women and Division One League Clubs in the Brong Ahafo Football Region on Saturday August 11, 2024, urging members to be guided by the principle of honesty, while finding innovative ways of improving the lot of the Clubs.
The President thanked participants for their unbelievable support after their resounding endorsement in his re-election as the leader of Ghana Football in October 2023.
He also apologised to the Clubs for the inconvenience caused following the postponement of the meeting, originally scheduled for Friday August 9, 2024.
"I want to take this opportunity to apologise to all of you for my inability to meet you yesterday. It was circumstances beyond my control. I am not a disrespectful human being and have never shown disrespect to members of my family. However, I am very happy that you have found time to rejoin me for today's meeting," he said
"I have absolute respect for Clubs in Brong Ahafo Region and I will not deliberately postpone a meeting that I have called for. I apologise to you once again. I hope my explanation will go down well with you."
"I have an undiluted passion to serve football and so I am extremely grateful that you reposed confidence in my leadership to lead. I want to be remembered for being honest and for doing my best under the circumstances facing Ghana Football."
President Simeon-Okraku urged the Club representatives to devise ways and strategies to add value to their Clubs, revealing that pre-match media engagements will be mandatory ahead of the new season.
"If we are not creative, the industry will collapse. We have to devise ways of enhancing the corporate brand of our clubs to ensure we benefit immensely from it."
"Pre-match interviews will be mandatory. It is going to be captured in the regulations to ensure we don't depart from it. These are all part of the ways to help to promote our game and make it better. We must strive to seek perfection and stay on course with the developmental agenda of the game in our country."
The President urged the Clubs to place premium on youth football, which is the future of the game in Ghana.
"When you play young players, the benefits are enormous. We must pay serious attention to youth football. In our quest to do that, going forward, in our matchday squads, we must prepare to include a good number of U19 players with some these players starting matches. Youth football is an essential aspect of the agenda to create wealth for all investors in Ghana Football," the President continued.
In re-echoing his honesty mantra, President Edwin Simeon-Okraku, urged the Clubs to work hard to meet the Club Licensing requirements ahead of the new season.
"Let's accommodate each other, let's change the image of football in the region and strive to seek perfection. Let's work hard to meet the Club Licensing requirements. We are far behind but with commitment and support, we can accelerate our growth."
The President also touched on the separation of Zone I into subzones, the need for unity, TV broadcast, age cheating, women's football, hooliganism and the need to imbibe creativity and innovation in the enhancement of the game in the country.
The decision to separate Zone 1 into subzones dominated the discussion with varied opinions expressed on the best way to deal with the issues that led to the decision.
The President outlined plans to elevate the National Division One League by securing television coverage. This move is part of a broader strategy to enhance the league's visibility and commercial appeal. His emphasis on improving the Division One League aligns with the GFA's vision and focus on grassroots development to enhance the wider appeal of Ghana Football to Ghanaians.
Participating Clubs also took turns to express their respective views on the development of football in the region in a healthy discussion at the Eusbett Hotel in Sunyani.
The meeting was heavily attended with representatives of clubs from the Premier, Women and Division One Leagues, based in the region, in attendance.
The consensus amongst participants, at the end of the meeting, was that the interaction with the President had been timely and very useful; and that it would set the tone for a renewed focus on professional practice in Football in the Brong Ahafo Football Region.
GFA Communications