The Executive Committee of the Ghana Football Association has commented on concerns over the future direction of football in the country.

The response by the Executive Committee comes after a number of issues - the constitutionality of the FA’s tenure in office, a call for a forensic audit of the sport body’s 2006 World Cup accounts, appointment of government representatives onto the management boards of the various national teams and matters bordering on the disbursement of sponsorship funds – alleged to have been contained in a DRAFT report by the new government’s transition team.

The on-running reportage of the issues has attracted concerns from Fifa, Caf and Wafu as well as sponsors of the Ghana Football Association about the future of Ghana football.

Read below the full text of Thursday’s press conference held by the Ghana Football Association and addressed by the President, Kwesi Nyantakyi.

A PRESS STATEMENT BY THE GHANA FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION ON RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN SECTIONS OF THE MEDIA

My Colleagues on the Executive Committee,

Gentlemen and Ladies of the Media,

I wish to welcome all of you to this morning’s meeting of the Ghana Football Association with members of the media.

We decided to address this meeting in order to raise and discuss a number of issues that have recently gained prominence and widespread circulation in the media. Before I proceed I will like to introduce the members of the executive committee who are here to support my presentation.

This press briefing has been necessitated by the volume of calls and enquiries that we have received from our sponsors, partners and collaborators as well as queries from WAFU, CAF and FIFA about the future of football in Ghana. The offices of the GFA in Accra and the regions have also been inundated with calls from well meaning members of the public about current developments in the media about the GFA.

All of the issues have been raised in the print and electronic media. Since the issues were raised in the media, there has not been any denial or a rejoinder from any quarters. We may therefore presume that the statements contained therein are true. It is also noteworthy that the alleged report of the transition team which has been quoted and described as a DRAFT report should be given extensive coverage in the media when the persons/institutions affected by the report are yet to receive any notification of it. On the presumption that the publications are true we wish to comment as follows:-

i) The first issue is the tenure of the FA. According to the alleged report the transition team has recommended that the tenure of the FA should be reviewed or halted altogether.

The said recommendation is, with all due respect, misleading. In 2005 the FA revised its statutes and embraced a new dispensation under which GOVERNMENT control and direct involvement in the management of football is substantially curtailed. Under the new arrangement, the leadership of football in Ghana is elected for a term of office. The power to make rules and regulations for the management of football is vested exclusively in the Congress/General Assembly of the FA. The tenure of the current management of football was reviewed and the time for elections rescheduled from 2010 to 2011. That review was carried out by a duly constituted Congress, the only competent authority vested with the right to do so. Surprisingly, when the FA appeared before the transition team no question was raised about the tenure of the FA. How did it become an issue? We could have helped to explain and clear all doubts on the mind of the transition team if it had raised it for our comments. A recommendation to review the tenure of the FA therefore appears misplaced. The recommendation is at best an attempt to interfere in the management of football, which no doubt would incur the wrath of FIFA.

ii) The second issue is the alleged recommendation by the transition team that a forensic audit should be carried out on the 2006 world cup accounts and specifically the payment of bonuses, per diem allowances and other emoluments paid during the last mundial.

The phrase ‘forensic audit’ has not been defined anywhere. It has however been understood to refer to the targeted application of detailed audit procedures to identify any illegal, unauthorized or un-procedural use of funds/assets and to establish the identity of those responsible. The phrase has recently gained currency and widespread usage. As part of the invitation to appear before the transition team, the General Secretary was issued a threat by a member of the transition sub-team on social sector that if the GFA didn’t appear on time, a forensic audit will be ordered into its activities. I was therefore not surprised at all when I read in the media that the threat issued out to the General Secretary appears to be gaining ground.

An audit or a forensic audit however so described is not bad at all. There must however be a legal basis for it. You do not resort to a forensic audit just for the sake of it. There are a number of reasons why a forensic audit will be commissioned. These include situations where adverse findings are made during a normal audit, where questions are raised about the validity of a procurement procedure, non-performance or non-delivery of goods/services, where information is received from a “whistle-blower” or where there is evidence that the Auditor has done a shoddy work by colluding with the institution or person audited to conceal material information. Sometimes a mini investigation may be conducted to establish the basis for a forensic audit otherwise most invariably audits will be re-audited simply on the basis of allegations for calls for a forensic audit. The accounts of the Ghana Football Association including the 2006 world cup accounts have been audited by the Office of the Auditor General of Ghana (“the Auditor General”). The audit findings and opinion of the Auditor General were submitted to the Congress of the Ghana Football Association, the then Ministry for Education, Science and Sports and the Parliament of Ghana. The Congress of the GFA considered the accounts and approved the same as being a true and fair view of the financial position of the Association. The then Minister for Education Science and Sports, Hon. Professor Dominic Fobih appeared on the floor of parliament and answered questions relating to the 2006 world cup accounts. Parliament in its wisdom considered the accounts and expressed satisfaction with the same. The GFA Congress, the Ministry of Education Science and Sports and Parliament acting alone or together did not find any reason to request a forensic audit. What is the basis for it now? The Audit Service Act, the law on audit of public accounts provides that the findings and opinion of the Auditor General on accounts audited by the Auditor General are final. Any one dissatisfied with such findings may petition the High Court to order a second audit. The request to the High Court must provide a reasonable basis for the High Court to exercise its power in that regard. We are not afraid at all of a forensic audit because we have not committed any wrongdoing but if the issues raised by the report are the basis for a forensic audit, then with due respect, they lack merit.

Audits are carried out according to international auditing standards and the detail to which the alleged report of the transition team sought a forensic audit are details that the Auditor General saw and considered before signing the accounts of the GFA. The details include the signature records for all players who received per diem allowances, bonuses and appearance fees. The breakdown also provided all payments made to all officials and the relevant approvals of the competent authorities connected thereto. It also covered all income received from the participation of the Black Stars and/or other national team/s from friendly matches. One does not have to provide such details in the final accounts. Furthermore, let me add that every payment made at the 2006 world cup including bonuses, allowances and appearance fees to players and officials were based on the PRIOR APPROVAL of the Chief of Staff, Office of the President on the recommendation of the then Minister for Education, Science and Sports which were all sighted by the Auditor General before signing off the accounts. It is therefore untrue that any player or official received any payment which he was not entitled to receive.

The transition team further recommended that all payments headed “ways and means” and “miscellaneous” must be thoroughly investigated. We have no such payments as ‘ways and means’ and miscellaneous in the 2006 World Cup Accounts.

iii) The third issue is the recommendation by the Government transition team that Government should appoint representatives to the Management Committees of the various national teams. The FA has a difficulty in accepting a proposal that amounts to a clear interference in the management of football in the country. FIFA frowns on the direct involvement of Government in the management of football. We all agree that the Government owns all the national teams and yet Government cannot be directly involved in management. Following legislative reforms undertaken by the FA in 2005, clear boundaries were drawn within which the FA is expected to collaborate with Government. With respect, FIFA was hesitant in giving Government a direct involvement in management. However, a collaborative arrangement that has stood the test of time and produced results is that all payments for expenses relating to the national teams are handled directly by Government. Art 70 of the GFA Statutes provides a Publics Interest Committee which is expected to take care of Public and Government interest. A further danger in accepting direct Government representatives is that whenever there is a change of Government there will necessarily be changes in the composition of membership of the management committees. A situation that will affect the continuity of the FA and its programs and institutional memory some people may have. This is one of the philosophical foundations for FIFA’s abhorrence for Government involvement in the management of football.

There also appears to be a clear misconception about the role and areas of authority of the management committees which has culminated in the erroneous impression that representation on these sub-committees of the executive committee will safe guard Government interest and the public purse and instill financial discipline in Management. The true facts are that management committees of national teams hardly handle cash meant for financing programmes of the national teams. The direct cash components are handled by officials of the Ministry. That arrangement in our respectful opinion has ensured the safeguarding of public funds and also insulated the FA from perceptions and suspicions of financial misappropriation.

iv) We have learnt from the Media that the transition team has recommended that Government should cause an investigation to be conducted into the One Touch Sponsorship for the clubs and the procurement of cameras for the premier league. No basis has been laid for Government to carry out this investigation. The Government has no pecuniary interest in the One Touch Sponsorship Contracts as well as cameras procured for the premier league. Sponsorship Contracts for the league are negotiated for the clubs and management of the league. It has nothing to do with Government. The cameras were also procured with monies belonging to the clubs which are all private companies limited by shares or guarantee. The clubs are satisfied with the procurement and usage of the cameras. Sponsorship for the league and cameras and accessories for the league are not part of the assets and/or liabilities of the Government.

v) The Media publication suggests that Government should order an investigation into the procurement of the Mercedes Benz Bus provided the Black Stars by its kits sponsor, Puma. Once again the report does not explain why the Government should investigate the procurement of the Puma bus. For your information it is not the only bus we have. We got a second one from Guinness under the same circumstances. They were both purchased for the Black Stars under our sponsorship arrangements and these purchases were made by our sponsors based on our specifications. Why is the procurement of only one and not the two buses an issue? I beg to say that this invitation to Government has no basis in fact or law.

vi) The transition team is further alleged to have expressed the concern that though PUMA is the kit sponsor of the national teams, the balls for league matches are of a different brand and supplied by a member of the Black Stars Management Committee. The issue raises more questions than answers. Has the use of balls other than puma balls infringed any law or Agreement with any Sponsor? Have the use of the balls affected the league in any way? What is the interest of the transition team in balls for our league matches? With respect this in an attempt to interfere in the management of the league. It is also strange that the supply of footballs for our local league by an individual should become the subject of comment by the transition team. Interestingly, the issue of the procurement of cameras for the league, the Onetouch Sponsorship, PUMA Bus and Footballs were never raised when the FA appeared before the transition team.

These developments have occurred on the heels of recent works of some self styled “Auditors” who decided to visit the team hotel of the Black stars, (Golden Tulip) after the world cup qualifier with Benin in Kumasi. The said auditors drew up their own terms of reference, to wit, to find out how many players slept at the hotel; how many officials accompanied the team, how much was the rate per room? How much was the cost of meals? etc. After obtaining the information demanded they made a comparison with the budget submitted to Government and thought the GFA officials had pocketed the difference. They then got their collaborators in the media to use these information to malign and libel particular executives of the GFA especially myself, the vice president and spokesperson. It was obvious that the persons behind the secret investigation did not know that the Ministry officials paid all bills directly for all hotel bills relating to the national teams. Secondly, the “Auditors” did not know that budgets are just estimates. The actual expenses incurred may be more or less the estimates submitted to Government. The difference/variance in expenses (if positive) is retained by the relevant Government agency or paid back to Government chest.

We now have information that copies of the budget for the entire world cup campaign submitted to the Ministry are with media men who are “researching” some of the projected expenses.

I wonder why all these interruptions and disruptions at this material time that the GFA is seriously engaged in the prosecution of its mandate to qualify GHANA for a second world cup. There is the need for us all to remain focused on our work.

In the face of all these challenges, the GFA is committed to collaborating with the Ministry of Youth and Sports to ensure that we achieve all our targets including a qualification to next year’s world cup in South Africa. In this regard, I will like to place on record the excellent support and cooperation we have enjoyed from the Minister of Youth and Sports, Hon. Muntaka Mohammed Mubarak, the Chief of Staff, Mr. Victor Newman and other senior officials of Government. We are optimistic that with a united front all challenges and difficulties will be surmounted.

Let me at this stage acknowledge our sponsors who have over the years been attracted to the FA because of the level of professionalism, transparency and accountability of the FA. Due to our transparency, most of the sponsors have agreed to a renewal of their contracts with the GFA.

The Sponsors are :-

1. Goldfields Ghana Limited - Headline sponsor of the Black Stars 2. PUMA, Kit sponsor for all of the national teams 3. GLO Mobile Ghana Limited – Communications sponsor of the Black Stars and the little sponsor of the Premier League 4. Guinness Ghana Breweries Limited – Official beverage sponsor of the Black Stars 5. CCTC – the Ricemasters – Official meal sponsor of the Black Stars 6. Polytank – Title sponsor of the Division One League

We have also in the last few years had donors and event sponsors such as GLICO, Ecobank, Zenith Bank, OMP, Polytank, Onetouch, GTP, Pinbridge and others.

I have to inform you of all these to show the level of co-operation and confidence we enjoy from corporate Ghana and the international business community.

The FA will not do anything that would keep away sponsors because as you are aware our qualification of the Black Stars to the first ever World Cup in 2006, was partly due to the sponsorship by GFG.