ADDRESS BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE GHANA FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION TO THE FIRST ORDINARY SESSION OF CONGRESS OF THE ASSOCIATION UNDER THE NEW STATUTES ON THURSDAY 20TH JULY 2006.


I salute you all on the occasion of the first ordinary session of Congress.

Congress is the supreme and legislative organ of the GFA.

It meets once in a year in an ordinary session to transact certain constitutionally mandated businesses.

Congress may also meet in an extraordinary session to deliberate on any business set for that purpose.

This session of Congress was convened to consider the minutes of the previous meeting of Congress, Financial Statements of the Association for 2004, proposals for amendment of the statutes and regulations of the Association, an address by the Minister for Education, Science and Sports and an address by the President of the Association.

My maiden address to Congress will highlight the activities of the Association since I assumed office in December 2005 and plans that will be prosecuted from now to the next ordinary session of Congress.

These shall include but not limited to the African Cup of Nations in Egypt, the 2006 World Cup in Germany, the Legal and institutional framework for the Domestic League Competitions, Restructuring of the GFA Secretariat, re-organisation and capacity building for the Regional Football Associations, the 4-year Business and Development Plan, and related matters.

THE AFRICAN CUP OF NATIONS IN EGYPT

My first baptismal of fire was to lead the Black stars to the 26th African Cup Nations Competition in Egypt in January 2006.

The team’s preparation towards the competition suffered a major setback when five (5) key players sustained various injuries and so fell out of the official squad.

We had no alternative than to fall on substitute players that failed to glitter when it mattered most.

The performance of the Black Stars in Egypt has been put in the dustbin of history.

In short, the team suffered a humiliating exit from the competition after the first round.

We returned to Ghana from Egypt unnoticed.

The then Head Coach, Mr. Ratomir Dujkovic could not return with us from Egypt. He had received threats of harm and death.

Upon assurances that he would not be attacked I met Mr. Dujkovic at the airport with a police escort.

Soon after arrival we were faced with one of the severest criticisms for the poor show in Egypt.

There were persistent calls for the dismissal of the coach. There even calls for the heads of some FA officials.

I was not spared that call.

During those uncompromising moments, I learnt to remain focused and committed to one cause only.

A cause of duty and a commitment to work according to my conscience.

It was during those days I stopped listening to radio except when I am in the car.

I also stopped reading the newspapers in the mornings.

The seeds of pessimism, which were sown during the post Egypt days germinated into the thinking that our participation at the world cup was an unnecessary adventure.

We nonetheless matched into the world cup campaign believing that the Black Stars will shine in Germany.

THE 2006 WORLD CUP

Our participation at the 2006 world cup is historic. We did not only participate but competed favourably with the heavy weights of world football.

We made history by qualifying for the second round as the only country from Africa, Asia, Central and North America.

That splendid performance of the Black Stars made positive impacts on all spheres of our national life.

The performance of the Black Stars brought a sense of pride, dignity and honour to us all.

It also brought Ghanaians together for the first time and demonstrated that football is the best vehicle for promoting the ideals of nationalism and patriotism amongst a people.

On the commercial front, the Black Stars has proven today to be the most attractive and lucrative brand of all categories of products.

The Black Stars has introduced another form of tourism, which for want of a better description I shall call Football tourism.

This form of tourism is the attractiveness that football has brought to Ghana as a Country, its people, cultural heritage and economic potentials.

I salute the gallant players of the team, the Management Committee and technical team for the good performance in Germany.

I will like to thank the President of the Republic and his Government for the support given the team throughout the world cup campaign.

I also wish to thank the Honorable Minister of Education Science and Sports and his able Deputy Mr. O.B. Amoah for their guidance and support.

I wish to thank all our sponsors namely, Puma, Goldfields Ghana Limited, Guinness Ghana Limited, Areeba, CCTC, Ecobank, First Atlantic Bank Limited, Ghana Link, Gateway Services Limited, Goil Ghana Limited and many others for supporting the Black Stars.

I thank all Members of Congress, the Executive Committee, staff of the Secretariat and our friends from the Press for their support.

Our world cup glory was truncated by the unexpected resignation of the Head Coach of the Black Stars, Mr. Ratomir Dujkovic.

He cited Ghana’s abrasive press and the attendant effect on his health as the reasons for his decision to quit.

The Executive Committee has reviewed the resignation and accepted the same.

We have appointed a nine-member search team under my chairmanship to identify a successor for Mr. Dujkovic.

We have also appointed an acting head coach pending the appointment of a substantive coach.

Mr. Dujkovic's financial relationship with the FA has been sorted out to enable us to close the chapter on him.

THE DOMESTIC LEAGUE

The legal and institutional arrangements for the domestic league have undergone some changes with the view to injecting more professionalism into the running of the game.

At the last extra-ordinary session of congress, some amendments were made to our Regulations.

Sanctions for non-compliance includes the forfeiture of points in matches played.

The highlights may be summarised as follows:-


i) The league calendar was changed from the traditional schedule of February to December to a new schedule of August to May to synchronise with the European calendar.

ii) We introduced the requirement for registration of two strips, one for home and the other for away.

iii) We created two windows for registration in accordance with global practice.

iv) To stem the tide of the perennial problem of qualified players, we have established a period within which protests for unqualified players could be tolerated after which period the registration of players is validated by the FA.

v) We will today consider proposals for the scrapping of the National Middle League and a new format for the promotion of clubs from the first division to the premier league.

These and many more have been introduced to inject more professionalism into the running of the league.

Today’s Congress will be expected to discuss the modalities for the determination of teams that will represent Ghana in Africa for 2007.

RESTRUCTURING OF THE GFA SECRETARIAT

The Secretariat has been identified as key to the success or otherwise of the FA.

Accordingly, the Executive Committee has devoted its meeting in August to a discussion of the same.

In the business and development plan, this subject is supposed to be addressed by 31st December 2006.

Key areas of the Secretariat that have been identified for review are the organogram for the FA, remuneration and compensation package, job description and job evaluation, staff training and development and an overview of the conditions of service.

We aspire to make the FA a compelling place to work with a well defined structure and competitive packages for a self and well motivated staff.

THE 4-YEAR BUSINESS AND DEVELOPMENT PLAN

This is the policy document for the current Management of Ghana Football for the next 4 years.

It was discussed and approved by the Executive Committee in April and launched in Cape Coast.

The highlights of this policy document may be summarized as follows:-

i) To lay a strong foundation for youth football in Ghana

ii) To provide a regular and reliable training for coaches, referees, sports medical personnel


iii) To ensure that there is a grading system for coaches

iv) To ensure that our referees participate at confederation and world level competitions

v) To make the FA financially self sufficient

vi) To assist clubs to be strong on and off the field of play

vii) To ensure that all the National teams qualify for their respective world competitions

viii) To ensure that the Black Stars are ranked among the top 20 in the world and the top 5 in Africa

ix) To organize a national women’s league in Ghana

x) To build a strong and competitive domestic league for all levels in Ghana

xi) To build a robust marketing oriented and top quality brand for Ghana football

xii) To develop strong RFAs that will execute the national agenda of the FA at the regional level.

xiii) To support our clubs participating in African Clubs competitions

xiv) To set up a pension fund for our retired players

The business plan will require a financial outlay of US$6m. We intend to finance it from proceeds of the FIFA FAP, Sponsorship and other sources of income.

A successful prosecution of the plan will result in the laying of a solid foundation for Ghana football and a sustainable development of the game here.

We will crave the indulgence of congress to support the plan. It is the key to the future of football in Ghana.

CLOSE OF SEASON

Congress officially closes the previous season and marks the commencement of the next season. I will like to congratulate all the clubs that participated in last season’s leagues at all levels.

I will like to congratulate the league champion for the premier league, Asante Kotoko and the top four clubs that qualified for Africa. I also wish to congratulate Great Olympics, Tema Youth and All Blacks for qualifying for the premiership.

I wish them well.

Okwawu United, Dwarfs and Hotspurs were relegated to Division One League. Good luck in your new found league.

CONCLUSION

May I thank all of you for the support you have provided me in diverse forms.

I hope to continue to count on your support as we execute our policies and the mandate given by your good selves.

May the good lord bless and continue to guide us in the pursuit of our mandate.

Thank you.


(Kwesi Nyantakyi)