Ahead of the 2024-25 Football Season, President of the Ghana Football Association (GFA), Kurt Edwin Simeon-Okraku, has charged Premier League Match Commissioners to uphold the integrity of the game.
President Simeon-Okraku made the remark during a frank and open engagement with the officers tasked to supervise the organisation of Premier League matches and for ensuring that GFA Regulations and instructions are comprehensively observed.
The President underlined the importance of upholding the integrity of the game to "Winning back the 12th Man" - a theme he espoused during the 2024 convocation of Congress on August 27, 2024.
"Please, I need your support. At Congress, I spoke about winning the 12th man back, referring to our fans. I spoke about fixing the fundamentals, and I spoke about consolidating the gains we have made. Now to win the 12th man back, we need to ensure that the integrity of this game is protected," President Simeon-Okraku said
"We need to assure our fans that the game that they are paying to go and watch is competitive. They need to be assured. But for those of us who have the mandate to manage the games, we must report and manage the games well."
"This is the assurance they need. If you see the stadia empty, Accra empty, Kumasi empty, this issue of integrity is important. The integrity of the game, the beauty of the game, how we manage the games, is key. It's the reason why I will continue to believe in all of you to support my vison and that of the Executive Council in delivering top level domestic football for Ghanaians."
The President assured the Match Commissioners that the faith placed in him by Congress will be respected, promising to provide logistics and clear outstanding allowances before the start of the season on September 7, 2024.
"All of you have faith in me and kept me in office. I am grateful!. That trust you have in me will never be disrespected. I will provide uniforms and before the season starts, I will clear your outstanding allowances. All of us have committed ourselves to the vision of developing our football. It is the reason why we are all here. My vision is to develop football. The vision of your EXCO is to develop football. And once you've left home and joined me here today, it means you are committed to the vision of developing Ghana football."
President Simeon-Okraku is determined to clamp down on illegal activities that undermine vigorous efforts being made to restore and enhance confidence in the domestic league.
The President attended the meeting with Executive Council member, Frederick Acheampong, Deputy General Secretary in charge of National Teams, Alex Asante, and GFA Head of Information Technology, Francis Essah Adu.
The 2024-25 Premier League season commences on Saturday, September 7, 2024.
GFA Communications