Press Release on the State of the Nation address delivered by the President of the Republic of Ghana, His Excellency John Dramani Mahama

The Ghana Football Association (GFA) wishes to express its gratitude to President John Dramani Mahama for his passion for the Black Stars and Ghana Football, a passion shared by millions of Ghanaians.

We acknowledge the President's observation, during his presentation of the State of the Nation address, that the Black Stars' failure to qualify for the AFCON is not reflective of the country's football talent. Indeed, it is some comfort that Ghana sits at joint top of our World Cup qualifying group at the moment.

It is for this reason that the Executive Council has taken some steps to strengthen the Management and Technical team of the Stars. We expect these interventions to reflect in our upcoming World Cup qualifiers in the month of March and also further on in the year.

We also endorse His Excellency's call for transparency in relation to the budgeting and expenditure related to the Black Stars and, by extension, all national teams.

Indeed, as part of our commitment to transparency, the GFA has always provided the Ministry responsible for Sports with the first draft budget for the national teams. Beyond this, everything to do with the budgeting and expenditure related to the Black Stars sits with the Ministry. For emphasis, payments made in relation to the Black Stars are exclusively handled by the Ministry.

We support the President's call for the Ministry to deal transparently with the public regarding these matters and will willingly support the Ministry of Sports and Recreation to achieve this goal.

We are energized by the President's passion and look forward to working with the Ministry of Sports and Recreation to actualize the dreams and aspirations of all Ghanaians.

GFA Communications