Questionable league management

The GFA's management of the league isn't the best 

The Ghana Football Association (GFA) is one of the most talked about institutions in the country. They are talked about often for the wrong reasons and it’s not as if people simply choose to give the GFA negative publicity. The GFA actually creates the platform for the bad press they often receive. That’s a conclusion I have drawn based on certain observations.

If you doubt, just check recent developments by within the corridors of the FA regarding the management of the domestic league. You won’t find it difficult to agree with me. I have said over and over that, I hate to criticize the GFA for the simple reason that, there are extremely nice people and good friends in there. It’s however sad to observe that, these people in the exercise of their mandate as managers of the domestic game, often disappoint me.

And their unimpressive management of the domestic game frankly is hurting local football enthusiasts like me. It’s heartbreaking and from where I sit, I can only write and complain, drawing their attention to the fact, our local game deserves the better management.

The GFA often cry wolf over how the media likes to dwell on negative things instead of giving the positive things prominence but what they forget or overlook is that, there can be no bad way of advertising our game than exposing it to decisions that only confound football enthusiasts and the media.

A typical example is what we were subjected to last week. After officially releasing the Premier League fixtures for the new season thereby aiding the clubs to properly plan, it was announced that, Techiman City – one of the newly promoted teams have been demoted to the third tier of the country’s football over a bribery case.

I love disciplined people and institutions. I also admire individuals and groups that adhere to rules and regulations but then I hate it, when in ensuring that, rules and regulations work, common sense is overlooked to create unnecessary confusion, which in the long run, overshadows good effort.

I won’t interrogate the bribery issue involving Techiman City. I am not doing it because I sympathize with Mickey Charles and his team. I’m refraining from that because for me, my primary issue isn’t with punishing crime but with how crime is punished to affect others who aren’t complicit or involved in the crime.

How league fixtures could be planned and released by the GFA with Techiman City acknowledged and paired against other clubs only to be demoted days later leaves me to question the management of affairs at the GFA and the sort of coordination that exists between bodies like the Ethics Committee and the Premier League Board (PLB).

Again, my beef isn’t about the punishment meted out to Techiman City and whether or not they deserve it! That’s another matter for discussion. My problem is with the confusion Techiman City’s demotion has caused; their looming appeal; review and all the long, boring legal actions they could take to seek justice and eventually prolong our already long wait for the season.

I have been wondering if it was necessary to release the fixtures, knowing that, one of the participating teams would be demoted and in consequence, issues were going to be raised about the much publicized league start date and its feasibility.

Did the PLB know the outcome of the case and still went ahead to draw the fixtures with Techiman City? Is there no cooperation between the sub-committees of the FA so that, the release of the fixtures could have been suspended until every issue surrounding the start of competition is amicably dealt with.

We wait to see what will happen on February 20, 2016 – whether the league will start, and of course, if there will be 15 participating teams or indeed, we will have the full complement of clubs qualified to compete in the league. Whatever system on which domestic football runs in our country needs to be looked at because certain things are not right.

The statement by the FA that, its domestic football programme will proceed as plan doesn’t reveal anything substantial with particular reference to the league. And I dare say that, local football enthusiasts risk waiting for a longer time to see the season underway. We wait to see what will happen.