I’m quitting to serve my God — Abra-Appiah

One of the great soccer administrators of our time, Mr Welbeck Yaw Abra-Appiah, has decided to call time on his illustrious 10-year reign as the chairman of the Premier League Board (PLB).

Mr Abra-Appiah took the difficult decision just before the curtain was drawn on the challenging 2014/2015 First Capital Premier League season, so he could have more time to serve his creator.

Unlike previously when he was prevailed upon to change his mind after publicly declaring his intention to quit, the retired banker and businessman insists his decision this time around is irreversible.

During his tenure, Ghana’s top-flight league went through various transformations, including changing the GFA sub-committee’s name from the Professional League Board to Premier League Board to reflect the true status of the elite league.

Having been at the helm for a decade, coupled with the challenges of age and other factors, the affable man thinks it is time to leave the scene when the cheers are loudest and offer a much younger person an opportunity to bring on board new ideas to improve Ghana football. 

Last Wednesday, Mr Abra-Appiah granted Graphic Sports’ SAMUEL EBO KWAITOO an exclusive interview at his Dansoman residence in which he reflected on the past, present and future of Ghana football. Below are excerpts:

Graphic Sports (GS): Congratulations on your achievements as the chairman of the Premier League Board (PLB).

Abra-Appiah (AA): Thank you very much.

GS: Why do you want to quit at this time when Ghana Football needs you most?

AA: I believe in every human endeavour everything has a beginning and an end according to the Bible, and you can’t do away with that.I’ve been the chairman of this enviable position for the past 10 years. However, I think it is time to give way for someone with fresh ideas to take over from me. There are a lot of innovations in modern football which cannot be found in any textbook. With the knowhow of the current youth and the urge to be at certain positions we need to give them the opportunity to exhibit what they also have to offer. Age is also another factor. Here I can say that the work of a chairman of the PLB is so enormous, tedious and time-consuming that it requires somebody of a younger age. I’m of age now and can play certain roles within the GFA and other aspects of human life just as I serve on the boards of some institutions.

The most important aspect of my decision to quit is to allow me enough time to serve my God. You know, I’m a very good Christian and I need adequate time to do the work of God.

GS: Do you have an idea of any such younger person as a your successor?           

AA: I believe in succession planning because of my background as a banker, and for that reason I’ve been working with somebody on the PLB for the past three years. Sometimes I just leave him to assume certain responsibilities and also intentionally ask him to chair meetings of the PLB to see how he would fare. This person has the capability to take up that position without any doubt whatsoever when I leave the scene.

GS: Who are you referring to in this case?

AA: This is no other person but my vice, Ashford Tettey-Oku. He is very capable, but it is up to the Executive Committee to decide who should take over from me. But I will plead with them that if they want continuity and efficiency then Ashford is the right man for the job.

GS: So how does the FA president Kwesi Nyantakyi take your decision to quit?

AA: Kwesi is a very shrewd person, and after sitting down with him one-on-one I told him that this time round I would like to quit my position as the PLB chairman but will be willing to help in other capacities. He only said I should give him time to think about it. He never uttered a word but I think he would accept it.

GS: That means the case is not closed yet or?

AA: I don’t think Kwesi will say no. He respects me a lot, as well as my views.

GS: Any difference between the GFA-constituted PLB membership and the present one comprising club representatives?

AA: Yes, the current one is more efficient because the members are the main actors on the ground.

GS: What are some of your achievements since taking over from Sylvester Mensah?

AA: We have made some modest gains in the past few years. We have a website and also an email address which help with the update of historical information. We also have an annual awards scheme which did not exist before and has brought out a lot of good in terms of awarding excellence among players, club officials, match officials and some stakeholders. Within this period, we also have live TV coverage of league matches. We started with Glo, and then came in Metro TV, and now we have DSTV. 

We have also been able to categorise our matches into A, B, and C to take care of security so far as our matches are concerned which has helped in reducing hooliganism. We are currently experimenting advance ticketing and Cape Coast, especially, (where Dwarfs are based) has grabbed this advance ticketing system. Berekum Chelsea also embraced it when they were playing in Africa a few years ago, as well as Aduana Stars in Dormaa-Ahenkro. There are a few problems with the system due to electricity outage, which is a national issue now.

The introduction of the Match Review Panel by the FA is also a plus. It wasn’t instituted before but we have it now which has helped both administrators and soccer fans a lot.  There have been series of reports as we get closer and closer to having a decent football administration where the fans would get to know the rules and regulations in a form of a book. We have also gone beyond playing matches on Sundays only. In the past seasons, there were instances where clubs were scoring about 30 goals and all that but now we all get deep into details to erase such goal headlines and we currently have the EMS (an IT software) to determine our league fixtures for us. The EMS is also in charge of the league table, and the season’s statistics, including goal scorers, yellow cards, red cards, etc. EMS is a software we had from some developers outside the country and that is what we are using now in some of our operations.

Also we have also gone beyond the system of registering people manually. Registration is now done online. Significantly, the GFA has been picked as one of the institutions that is concrete with mass recognition, making Ghana the only country in Africa to have been permitted to do special registration. That is why we cannot play our league until November. FIFA will be teaching our people about this registration this week and, from now on, player registration will not close completely but continue till a certain time like it is done in the developed countries so that even if the league starts clubs can still register players. Ghana is the first country in Africa to have this registration system. These are the differences one should find when trying to compare the last 10 years to the time I took over and all these could not have been possible without the FA president, Kwesi Nyantakyi.

GS: Any difference between the GFA-constituted PLB and the current one composed of club representatatives?

AA: Yes, there is. The first and foremost difference is the persons involved. The current PLB has a large number of 16, plus myself, my vice and a secretary, while the previous one involved nine members. And in terms of efficiency, the current one does well because we have ideas from different sides of the participating clubs and they also bring out the practical aspect of issues because they are directly involved in the game. Besides, it has also helped in stopping hooliganism because I always tell every member that they are ambassadors of the PLB. I urge them to participate when matches are being played at their home grounds, to calm down situations and team up with the other stakeholders to ensure the successful organisation of matches. Generally, I think it is okay.

GS: Who is Welbeck Abra-Appiah?

AA: Abra-Appiah is a retired banker who started football at a very young age. I was formerly a footballer and an athlete. When I was in Legon, I used to run for Akuafo Hall but then I loved footbal. Right from school, I was administering Okwawu United before furthering my education abroad.

Despite all my academic activities, I still loved football. During my banking day in Ghana Commercial Bank, I was the first vice chairman of GHALCA (then OGLCA) with Major Yaw Larsen (retd) and others.. We changed the name from OGCLA to GHALCA. I was also in the FA for a very long time and served in various capacities. I retired from banking in 2005 as the then Managing Director of AmalBank (now Bank of Africa).

GS: What other banks did you work for?

AA: I actually started banking with the Ghana Commercial Bank (GCB), and then moved on to then Bank for Housing and Construction (BHC) and later served as the Deputy Managing Director (DMD) of The Trust Bank (TTB). I now serve on the Board of Bond Savings and Loans Bank and the Accion Bank as Board Chairman. I also served on the Audit Service Board till last year. 

GS: Your parting words.

AA: I wish stakeholders would continue to learn since football keeps growing. If we want the right people to be involved in football, then the insults must stop. The more people try to destroy football with insults, the more it will affect a whole lot of people.