PREAMBLE In the exercise of the powers conferred on the Congress of the Ghana Football Association (GFA) as the Supreme and Legislative organ of the Ghana Football Association by Article 23 of the Statutes of the Ghana Football Association, these Second Amendments of the General Regulations of the Ghana Football Association (hereinafter called “the Second Amendment”) is hereby made.
THE GFA GENERAL REGULATIONS HAS BEEN AMENDED AS FOLLOWS:
1. Article 3 of the General Regulations is amended by the addition of new Article 3 as follow:
ARTICLE 3 Each Member of FIFA shall play Association Football in compliance with the Laws of the Game as issued by the International Football Association Board (IFAB). Only The IFAB may lay down and alter the laws of the Game.
2. Article 14(3) of the General Regulations is amended by deletion and is replaced with a new Article 14(3) as follows:
ARTICLE 14(3) Without prejudice to any provision in these Regulations, the Disciplinary Committee shall have the right to take appropriate disciplinary decision, including but not limited to an imposition of a ban or a demotion against any club which withdraws from a competition or fails to honour any match without just cause and may also impose a ban on its officials from taking part in football activities for a specified period.
3. Article 16(5)(b) of the General Regulations are amended by deletion and are replaced with a new Article 16(5)(b) as follows: ARTICLE 16(5)(b) Where the defaulting team fails to produce the license of the player(s) concerned within the stipulated three (3) days, the defaulting team shall be sanctioned by the Disciplinary Committee of the GFA. 4. Article 17(3) of the General Regulations is amended by the addition of new Article 17(3) as follow: ARTICLE 17(3) Any team delaying the kick-off due to its reluctance to change its strip in the event of clash of strip shall be fined GH¢10,000.00 GH¢7,500.00 and GH¢5,000.00 for Premier, First and Second/Lower Division Clubs respectively.
5. Article 19(6) of the General Regulations is amended by deletion and is replaced with a new Article 19(6) as follow:
ARTICLE 19(6) A Referee or Match Commissioner may appeal to the GFA against a decision that imposes upon him a penalty, punishment or other disciplinary action (including removal from the GFA’s list of registered referees). Such an appeal must be lodged with the GFA within three (3) days from the date of the communication of the decision. The appeal shall be accompanied by a fee of GH¢150.00. It shall be heard by the GFA’s Appeals Committee whose decision shall be final and binding on all concerned.
6. Article 22(1)(a) of the General Regulations is amended by deletion and is replaced with a new Article 22(1)(a) as follow:
ARTICLE 22(1)(a) Referees and Match Commissioners shall complete and send reports to the GFA within forty-eight (48) hours from the end of the match. 7. Article 22(1)(b) of the General Regulations is amended by deletion and is replaced with a new Article 22(1)(b) as follow:
ARTICLE 22(1)(b) In the case of the Premier League, the Division One League, the FA Cup and the Elite Cup, the Referee and the Match Commissioners shall transmit their reports by e-mail or through any approved electronic medium and in any approved electronic format where possible to the GFA Secretariat within two (2) hours from the end of the match.
8. Articles 24(5) of the General Regulations are amended by deletion as follow: ARTICLES 24(5) {is hereby deleted}.
9. Article 26(1)(e) of the General Regulations is amended by deletion and is replaced with a new Article 26(1)(e) as follow: ARTICLE 26(1)(e) In registering players, full names (Surnames and Other names) shall be given. Incomplete or nick names shall not be accepted. After registration the association shall be notified of any changes, and in any event not later than fourteen (14) days from the date the license was issued.
10. Article 26(2)(a) of the General Regulations is amended by deletion and is replaced with a new Article 26(2)(a) as follow: ARTICLE 26(2)(a) Each club shall be given an online account by the IT Department of the GFA for online registration for each player and official for the Premier, Division One, Division Two, Division Three, Women and Juvenile League Clubs.
11. Article 26(3)(e) of the General Regulations is amended by deletion and is replaced with a new Article 26(3)(e) as follow:
ARTICLE 26(3)(e) A club shall be deemed to be the bona fide holder of the registration of a player only upon receipt of his registration license duly issued by the GFA. The player license is the property of the Association being held in trust by the clubs. The GFA shall have the right to withdraw or recall the license when the need arises.
12. Article 27(1)(a) of the General Regulations is amended by deletion and is replaced with a new Article 27(1)(a) as follow:
ARTICLE 27(1)(a) Old/Renewal of Players (Amateur or Professionals)
13. Article 27(1)(a)(ii) of the General Regulations is amended by deletion and is replaced with a new Article 27(1)(a)(ii) as follow:
ARTICLE 27(1)(a)(ii) Online registration completed by the parties and submitted.
14. Article 27(1)(b)(iii) of the General Regulations is amended by deletion and is replaced with a new Article 27(1)(b)(iii) as follow:
ARTICLE 27(1)(b)(iii) Online registration completed by the parties and submitted.
15. Article 27(1)(c)(iii) of the General Regulations is amended by deletion and is replaced with a new Article 27(1)(c)(iii) as follow:
ARTICLE 27(1)(c)(iii) Online registration completed by the parties and submitted.
16. Article 27(1)(c) of the General Regulations is amended by the addition of a new Article 27(1)(c)(vi) as follow:
ARTICLE 27(1)(c)(vi) A legal document indicating that he has never before registered for any other club.
17. Article 27(1)(d)(iii) of the General Regulations is amended by deletion and is replaced with a new Article 27(1)(d)(iii) as follow:
ARTICLE 27(1)(d)(iii) Online registration completed by the parties and submitted.
18. Article 27(1)(d)(iv) of the General Regulations is amended by deletion as follow: ARTICLE 27(1)(d)(iv) {is hereby deleted}.
19. Article 27(1)(f)(v) of the General Regulations is amended by deletion and is replaced with a new Article 27(1)(f)(v) as follow:
ARTICLE 27(1)(f)(v) Online registration completed by the parties and submitted.
20. Article 27(1)(g)(iii) of the General Regulations is amended by deletion and is replaced with a new Article 27(1)(g)(iii) as follow:
ARTICLE 27(1)(g)(iii) Online registration completed by the parties and submitted.
21. Article 27(1)(h)(iii) of the General Regulations is amended by deletion and is replaced with a new Article 27(1)(h)(iii) as follow:
ARTICLE 27(1)(h)(iii) Online registration completed by the parties and submitted.
22. Article 27(1)(h) of the General Regulations is amended by the addition of a new Article 27(1)(h)(v) as follow:
ARTICLE 27(1)(h)(v) Proof of last contract end date signed by the former club of the player with the name and title and designation of the official and/or a Free Agent letter from the Players’ Status Committee.
23. Article 27(1)(i)(iii) of the General Regulations is amended by deletion and is replaced with a new Article 27(1)(i)(iii) as follow: ARTICLE 27(1)(i)(iii) Online registration completed by the parties and submitted.
24. Article 27(2)(b) of the General Regulations is amended by deletion and is replaced with a new Article 27(2)(b) as follow:
ARTICLE 27(2)(b) Lost License: The following shall be required for a new license to be issued: (i) Police Extract. (ii) Legal document (iii) Written application on the club’s letter head addressed to the General Secretary. (iv) Payment of a fee of GH¢100.00
25. Article 27(2)(c) of the General Regulations is amended by deletion and is replaced with a new Article 27(2)(c) as follow:
ARTICLE 27(2)(c) Damaged License: The following shall be required for a new license to be issued: (i) Return of the damaged license. (ii) Written application on the club’s letter head addressed to the General Secretary. (iii) Payment of a fee of GH¢100.00
26. Article 27(4)(c) of the General Regulations is amended by deletion and is replaced with a new Article 27(4)(c) as follow: ARTICLE 27(4)(c) All players shall be registered anew every season.
27. Article 28(1)(c) of the General Regulations is amended by deletion and is replaced with a new Article 28(1)(c) as follow:
ARTICLE 28(1)(c) All clubs have five (5) days after the close of registration to challenge the registration of a player suspected to have been registered illegally, where illegal registration means a player who has a running contract with a club and has registered for another club without the knowledge of the mother club. A complaint about any player concerning a change in identity or data may be challenged at any time by any club by sending the complaint and evidence to the GFA Prosecutor for investigation and prosecution before the GFA Disciplinary Committee.
28. Article 29(1)(c) of the General Regulations is amended by deletion and is replaced with a new Article 29(1)(c) as follow:
ARTICLE 29(1)(c) A player banned from participating in GFA competitions by GFA, WAFU, CAF or FIFA.
29. Article 29(1)(e) of the General Regulations is amended by deletion and is replaced with a new Article 29(1)(e) as follow:
ARTICLE 29(1)(e) A player who has received a caution in three separate official matches of the GFA and has not miss the next official match (i.e. a match in the League, the FA Cup or the Elite Cup competitions).
30. Article 29(1)(f) of the General Regulations is amended by deletion and is replaced with a new Article 29(1)(f) as follow:
ARTICLE 29(1)(f) A player who has received a direct red card in a match and has not missed the required number of matches and/or paid the related fine.
31. Article 29(1)(g) of the General Regulations is amended by deletion and is replaced with a new Article 29(1)(g) as follow:
ARTICLE 29(1)(g) A player who has received two cautions in the same match and has not missed the next match and/or paid the related fine.
32. Article 37(1) of the General Regulations is amended by deletion and is replaced with a new Article 37(1) as follow:
ARTICLE 37(1) All Protests in respect of inter-club matches shall be forwarded in writing directly to the General Secretary of the GFA not later than three (3) days from the end of the match concerned.
33. Article 37(4) of the General Regulations is amended by deletion and is replaced with a new Article 37(4) as follow:
ARTICLE 37(4) It shall be the responsibility of the GFA to serve all disciplinary processes, protests and statements of defence on the appropriate parties either by hand or electronically through the official email of the parties and/or through fax on the same day the process is received by the GFA Secretariat.
34. Article 37(6) of the General Regulations is amended by deletion and is replaced with a new Article 37(6) as follow:
ARTICLE 37(6) A protest on the Match Report Form shall be confirmed by a Protest Form sent directly to the GFA within the stipulated time, namely three (3) days from the end of the match. The Protest Form shall be accompanied by evidence of payment of the appropriate protest fee.
35. Article 37(10)(a) of the General Regulations is amended by deletion and is replaced with a new Article 37(10)(a) as follow:
ARTICLE 37(10)(a) After the periods set for filing of the Statement of Case, Statement of Defence and for cases where a reply is filed, the Disciplinary Committee shall consider all the Statements of the parties and deliver its judgement within five (5) days after the last day for filing a Statement of Defence or Reply as the case may be.
36. Article 37(10)(b) of the General Regulations is amended by deletion and is replaced with a new Article 37(10)(b) as follow:
ARTICLE 37(10)(b) The decision of the Disciplinary Committee shall be based on the statement and/or evidence filed by the parties. However, if in the opinion of the Disciplinary Committee further evidence is required to assist in the determination of the case, the Disciplinary Committee may take such evidence before delivery of its decision. In such cases, the Disciplinary Committee will be required to deliver its judgement within five (5) days after taking any such further evidence.
37. Article 37(10)(c) of the General Regulations is amended by deletion and is replaced with a new Article 37(10)(c) as follow:
ARTICLE 37(10)(c) The Disciplinary Committee shall consider the merits of a case and deliver its decision in any given case, even if a party fails, neglects or refuses to file a Statement of Defence or Reply within the stipulated time.
38. Article 37(14) of the General Regulations is amended by deletion and is replaced with a new Article 37(14) as follow:
ARTICLE 37(14) The Disciplinary Committee, Appeals Committee, Players’ Status Committee and the Ethics Committee may communicate their decision directly to the clubs, officials or players concerned at their sitting. The GFA shall immediately communicate in writing the Committee’s decision to the parties involved when ready.
39. Articles 37(17)(a), 37(17)(b) and 37(17)(c) of the General Regulations is amended by deletion and is replaced with a new Article 37(17)(a) to Article 37(17)(e) as follow: ARTICLE 37(17)(a) to ARTICLE 37(17)(e)
17(a) An appeal to the GFA Appeals Committee does not operate as Stay of Execution.
17(b) An application for a Stay of Execution shall be filed within three (3) days after being notified in writing of the decision being appealed against and shall be filed by an Application Letter addressed to the General Secretary indicating the reasons in support of the application.
17(c) An application for a Stay of Execution shall operate as a stay of the decision being appealed against until or unless the Committee whose decision is being appealed against may otherwise order.
17(d) Any application for a Stay of Execution shall be heard by the Committee after the aggrieved party had paid the appropriate fee of GH¢250.00, GH¢150.00 and GH¢75.00 in the case of Premier, First and Second/Lower Division clubs respectively.
17(e) A repeat of an application for a Stay of Execution on appeal shall be heard by the Appeals Committee after the aggrieved party had paid the appropriate fee of GH¢300.00 GH¢200.00 and GH¢150.00 in the case of Premier, First and Lower Division Clubs respectively.
40. Article 39(5)(b)(i) of the General Regulations is amended by deletion and is replaced with a new Article 39(5)(b)(i) as follow:
ARTICLE 39(5)(b)(i) In this section “next official match” means a match in either the league or the FA Cup or the Elite Cup competitions. It is hereby declared, for the avoidance of doubt, that cautions received in the three (3) competitions shall be counted as though they were received in one (1) competition and a player who receives caution as in sub-paragraph (5)(a)(i-v) above either in one (1) competition or two (2) or all three (3) competitions (the League, the FA Cup or the Elite Cup) shall be liable to a suspension of one (1) match.
41. Article 40(2)(b) of the General Regulations is amended by deletion and is replaced with a new Article 40(2)(b) as follow:
ARTICLE 40(2)(b) Before the commencement of each football season, each club shall register all the names of its shareholders, directors, management members, other office holders, staff members and all other persons associated with the club in any capacity whatsoever (as well as their terms of office if available) with the league and the GFA. A club shall inform the GFA within three (3) days of any changes to the list of personnel or the role of the registered person. The Disciplinary Committee shall have the power to sanction any club which fails to comply with this regulation.
(These Second Amendments became effective on November 9, 2015)