King Faisal will return stronger — Alhaji Gruzah

The founder of Kumasi-based Division One side, King Faisal FC has vowed to return the club to the Ghana Premier League as a formidable side.

Alhaji Abdul Karim Gruzah cited the failure of the Ghana Football Association headed by Mr Kwesi Nyantakyi to apply the statutes of the association as the cause of King Faisal’s demotion to the wilderness of Ghana football five years ago.

“The past administration of the GFA did not apply our statutes. If they did, King Faisal would not have gone to relegation,” Alhaji Gruzah told Daily Graphic in an interview.

“I faced some challenges when we returned to the Premiership, but it was the unfair treatment of Mr Nyantakyi’s administration that pushed King Faisal into the lower division again. They were not fair to King Faisal because they did not apply the rules and regulations of the FA and eventually pushed us into the relegation net,” he explained.

He, however, vowed to return the club to the premiership, saying: “I don’t want to die before King Faisal return to the Premier League. That is why I am putting measures in place to build a strong side for us to hit the elite division with a big bang. I want to raise a good team capable of fighting for titles in all competitions.”

On why King Faisal have been struggling to return to the Premier League after they were sent to Division One five years ago, Alhaji Gruzah noted: “When we returned to the premiership, we encountered numerous challenges, forcing us to return to the wilderness of Ghana football. We played only two years in the Premier League, but this time I want to get things right so that if we return we can remain in the league,” he recounted.

“Inshah Allah, we are on course; we are doing what we can. When we were first relegated I was in a rush to bring the team back into the elite division, and that explains why we returned to Division One the following year. But this time, I am not in a rush to do so,” he noted.

The veteran football administrator, who has spent over 50 years of his life running football, assured his supporters that as soon as the GFA Normalisation Committee completes its work and gives the green light for the return of football, he would do everything in his power to raise a team capable of qualifying to play in the elite division.