Come again, GFA!
Coming events, it is said, cast their shadows and fears last week that the Ghana Football Association (GFA), by its unilateral decision to terminate the contract of the head coach of
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the Black Stars for inexplicable reasons, would portend trouble for the nation are manifesting fast now.
Today, the Daily Graphic can emphatically declare that the country is on the verge of being slapped with another avoidable huge judgement debt. Tag it with any description and it is
immaterial.
The problem is that the Ghanaian taxpayer will be required very soon to cough out a colossal amount to be paid to the dismissed Coach Kwasi Appiah, once his lawyers finalise
discussions with the GFA.
Wherein lies the justification? One may ask.
The GFA, by its own utterances, has made the nation to understand that Coach Appiah has not infringed any of the terms in the contract signed between the two parties. What the
GFA has been able to say is that “things have changed rapidly”.
Unfortunately, as of the time of going to press yesterday, the GFA had failed to assign reasons that necessitated the firing of the coach. But take it or leave it, the GFA cannot forever
keep silent on the reasons for the coach’s dismissal.
The Daily Graphic maintains that this is a matter of public interest and the GFA owes the nation a duty to make a public declaration on why it decided to dismiss the coach.
The fact is that we are aware that, among other issues, Appiah’s two-year contract stipulates that he should qualify the nation for next year’s Orange African Cup of Nations to be
hosted by Morocco and the records indicate that the coach is on course, having played two matches and winning one and drawing the other.
Therefore, the Ghanaian public ought to know the crime Appiah committed, since nobody wants to base his or her opinion on rumours or undertake a wild goose chase as to what
precipitated his sudden dismissal by an association that had earlier told the whole nation that it had absolute confidence in the head coach.
It is regrettable to note that Appiah had, throughout his humble beginnings as a footballer and later as a coach, not had it smooth sailing. It is sad to recall that as a player and
captain of the Black Stars, he was stripped of his title in bizarre circumstances when, prior to Senegal 1992, he was replaced by Abedi Ayew Pele.
As harrowing as that experience was, he never raised a finger, nor did he utter a word. But as a true patriot, disciplined and committed to the national cause, he continued to serve
the country as diligently as ever, to the point that he travelled to the United Kingdom to continue his career development and was later recognised and appointed to the position of
assistant national team coach and later head coach.
We dare ask again, what crime has Appiah committed all his life? Is it because he is soft-spoken by nature? Is there an unseen hand somewhere interfering with the work of the GFA!
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Whether or not answers are provided for these questions, we dare say that if his dismissal has anything to do with the Black Stars’ performance at the recent World Cup in Brazil,
then he cannot be singled out for blame.
Surely, he cannot be made a scapegoat. For, from what is emerging from the Presidential Commission investigating Ghana’s participation in the World Cup, it is clear that many
things went amiss during the tournament and the GFA and its allies cannot exonerate themselves from the collateral damage done the team and the country.
The Daily Graphic demands nothing but JUSTICE and FAIR PLAY in this matter, as it is determined not to allow the issues to be swept under the carpet.
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As already indicated from the compensation package figures being thrown around, a colossal amount has to be paid to the coach, whether we like it or not, and this definitely will be a
huge loss to the nation for which somebody will definitely has to answer. That amount would have been better spent in other areas of our football development but because this was
not well thought out, the country will have to pay that amount for the wrong reasons.
Is it out of place to conclude, and rightly so, that somebody must be ready to answer a charge of causing financial loss to the state?
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The Daily Graphic would want to make it clear that our views are not borne out of personal hatred or malice but in our belief that this is a matter of national concern.
As for how the GFA has been handling its affairs, especially in the area of sponsorship packages from PUMA, appearance fees in friendly international matches, as well as other
incomes to the football controlling body, it belongs to another discussion and the Daily Graphic promises that that and other issues, including the running story of Appiah vrs the FA,
will not go away soon.
This we promise our loyal readers.