Organise League more professionally

The founder of Oweriman football club, Nana Batafo Acheampong Nti, says the time has come for the First Capital Premier League to be organised more professionally to make it interesting enough to induce local players to give of their best.

In an interview with the Graphic Sports, he said the lack of professional touch in the Premier League had not only made it ordinary but had also affected the performance of locally-based players.

That, he said, had also created a situation where the Black Stars’ technical team  over-rely on foreign-based players during tournaments.

“Countries such as Cape Verde, Congo Brazzaville, Gabon and DR Congo, among others, which were regarded as minnows in soccer are now performing creditably in international competitions with players who are not playing in Europe. 

‘This is because they have a much more cohesive and interesting league which motivates local players to nurture and develop their talents,” he observed.

Describing the present Stars squad as ordinary, he said unless the Ghana Football Association (GFA) consciously developed a system of injecting interest into the local league to motivate local players to compete meaningfully with foreign-based players, Ghana will continue to be mere participants in international tournaments.

“The Black Stars have once again qualified to participate in the AFCON tournament in January next year but these are not players who can achieve something meaningful for the nation in such a major tournament,” he noted.

While describing the Stars defence as porous, he said the midfield was also not cohesive enough to propel the attack to deliver.

Nana Batafo, who is also the chief of Konongo, said with such a short period to the 2015 AFCON tournament, it was important for the FA to collaborate with the Stars’ technical team to find antidote to the weak Stars defence, as well as oil the midfield to help sharpen the attacking machinery.