Sports

GFA Congress to exert pressure on government to resume football

The Ghana Football Association (GFA) will hold its 26th Ordinary Congress today to make decisions on the future of the game.

Slated for the Ghanaman Soccer Centre of Excellence, Prampram, the one-day event will be graced by the Minister of Youth and Sports, Isaac Kwame Asiamah, who may be expected to explain further why football is still placed in the ‘freezer.’

Football activities have been suspended in the country since mid-March due to the coronavirus pandemic with the Ghanaian top-flight and all other football competitions shut.

The GFA had tentatively fixed October for the start of the 2020/2021 football season with the hope that government would lift restrictions on the game before time.

However, during his 16th address to the nation on Sunday on measures taken by government to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo extended the wait to an unknown date, sparking off debate amongst the game’s stakeholders, most of whom were livid about the situation.

According to the President, “in the next couple of weeks, a decision will also be taken on the resumption of contact sports, including football, taking into consideration the imminent participation of our national teams in international competitions.”

President Akufo-Addo said he acknowledged the devastation the absence of the game had caused and shared his hope that the Ghanaian population would have the pleasure to enjoy playing and watching football in the country again.

“As a known lover of football, I know how devastating its absence has been, and it is my hope that very soon we will all have the pleasure of playing and watching the beautiful game again. Until then, non-contact sports are the only sporting events permitted to take place,” he asserted.

Today’s congress, without any scintilla of doubt, will make a good meal of the issue.

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the government has instituted a ban on various public and social activities mainly aimed at reducing human contact and promoting social distancing.

Meanwhile, the GFA has informed members and all stakeholders that the association will fully comply with all COVID-19 safety protocols at today’s congress.

“Thermometer guns, hand-washing buckets, hand sanitisers and other Personnel Preventive Equipment (PPE) will be provided at the Congress,” it said.

Strict security measures will be enforced at the venue from the entrance to the main hall to ensure members of congress, invited guests and the accredited media men and women go through the health and safety procedures put in place successfully.

It cautioned that only accredited representatives nominated by members of congress will be allowed into the Congress premises in accordance with the Social Distancing Protocols.

“Delegates are kindly reminded that no mask, no entry.”

BY JOHN VIGAH

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