GFA to decide fate of league June 30

The President of the Ghana Football Association (GFA), Mr Kurt Edwin Simeon Okraku, has hinted that a definite decision would be taken on the 2019/20 league season on June 30.

That, he said, would be after the GFA Executive Council had adequately consulted with experts on whether to annul, truncate or continue with the league.

The GFA boss made the remarks during a video conference with other stakeholders in sports via Zoom app. It was organised by Happy FM and GTV Sports+ yesterday to discuss the effects of COVID-19 on the sports industry. 

No decision yet

“We have not decided yet to annul the league. The executive council met a few days ago to consider all the possibilities after which we issued a statement that we will continue to work closely with the government and the Health Ministry to see what the turnout would be.

“Beyond that, we gave ourselves a deadline of June 30 by which time the council will meet again to take a definite decision as to whether to continue with the league or truncate or cancel it under the circumstances within and outside the shores of Ghana,” he explained.

Consultation with experts

According to Mr Okraku, he had been working closely with the GFA Medical Committee headed by Dr Baba Adam, with Dr Percy Annan and Dr Kofi Ablorh as members to consider the various scenarios and to arrive at a positive conclusion.

“It is the Executive Council that has the power to decide on the league, so we can only make a definite statement on June 30. But within this period, we will continue to engage the key stakeholders.

“I am working closely with the GFA Medical Committee headed by the very experienced Dr Baba Adam, with Dr Percy and Dr Kofi Ablorh and we are looking at all possible scenarios. Based on their advice, I will go to the state authorities to engage them on the way forward,” he stressed.

He also revealed that he had taken custody of protocol guidelines from countries which have decided to continue with their league, as well as those who have cancelled theirs and had handed them over to the medical committee to study and advise the GFA accordingly.

FIFA Emergency Fund

He assured of a sound financial relief from the FIFA COVID-19 Emergency Fund soon.

“FIFA is fast-tracking all the processes to ensure that we get the Emergency Fund, so we are only playing the waiting game. Immediately we get this fund we will consult and make sure our clubs benefit from the money because clubs are suffering in this country.

“As I speak, we are waiting on FIFA Bureau of Council to announce the quantum of financial support to member associations,” he said.