Ghana football at crossroads

The football fraternity will take an important decision on the future of Ghana football today — the election of a new GFA President — which will see 120 delegates decide the fate of six candidates.

They are Amanda Clinton, Kurt Okraku, George Afriyie, Fred Pappoe, Nana Yaw Amponsah and George Ankoma Mensah.

This is happening at a time the image of football is at an all-time low, having been battered by corruption and maladministration at the very top echelons, and is in desperate need of salvation.

This is where the delegates have the onerous responsibility to elect the candidate who has the right attitude, temperament, capacity, capability and the vision to lead Ghana football to global heights.

The whole world is watching closely the outcome of today’s event and nothing must be done to mar the occasion.

For us at the Daily Graphic, we would like to wish all the six candidates good luck and hope that the best emerges victorious at the end of the national exercise.

The delegates are also expected to go about the exercise with a lot of decorum, decency and respect for one another, so that at the end of the exercise, Ghana football will ultimately be the winner.

Ghana football, no doubt, is at the crossroads, and to chart the right path will need all hands on deck and a united front.

This is not the time for divisive tendencies, the pull-him-down attitude and other negative tendencies that bode no good for football development.

We are happy that at last the Normalisation Committee has managed to reform the game with a new body of statutes and is ending its mandate with the election of a new crop of leaders to manage the affairs of Ghana football.

It has been a difficult 12 months of reforms by the Normalisation Committee, with regular domestic leagues grinding to a halt, with dire consequences on the fortunes of the national teams and the clubs participating in CAF competitions.

It has also been a period of reflection for football administrators.

Over time, football administrators have come to accept that the GFA brand has been badly damaged by their actions and inaction and that the next life of the GFA requires leaders with unblemished integrity, experience and maturity to lead Ghana football onto the path of reforms.

It is, therefore, significant to note also that all the six presidential candidates made anti-corruption, strict adherence to ethics and good corporate governance the pillars of their manifestos and campaigns.

And for the first time, they subjected themselves to media scrutiny and a novel public debate where they highlighted their readiness to chart a new path for Ghana football, among other innovative ideas to revive and grow the game.

That public display is seen as a demonstration of their commitment to reform the game and also allow for greater public scrutiny of the FA.

This is the challenge that confronts the new crop of leaders who will emerge from the two-day elections which began yesterday.