THE PLIGHT OF A GHANAIAN LOCAL FOOTBALLER.
Football over the years continues to dominate as the popular
and most patronized sport in the world. The enthusiasim and passion spectators
portray during football events such as the world cup, African Cup of nations,
Uefa champions league and many other competitions shows how far the game has
come in generating interest. However football recently has moved from just playing and watching for fun into a more bussiness approach. Players are able to live a comfortable live and take care of their families as a result of playing football. players like Messi , Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney , Samuel Eto and many others are mentioned among the rich list of the world because of the high wages and endorsement deals they have acquires thanks to the game of football.
Ghana is well known name in the footballing world. 4 times champions of Africa, 3 concecutive appearances at the world cup coupled with other youth championships makes us a force to reckon with. Well! With these glamorous accolades one may think playing in football in Ghana can be compared to likes of England and Spain, then sorry to disappoint you as the local league is amongst the worst run league in the world. With no sponsorship for the local league, teams find it difficult to pay their players the right salary to keep them playing for a long time. This has led to frequent departure of our best local players to foreign leagues to seek for high lucrative salaries and better living conditions. At the end of every season either the top scorer or the overall best player for that season travels to countries like Morocco, Sudan,Tunisia,Cyprus,Israel, Mali, just to mention a few to continue their career not because the standard of play in those countries is better than ours but is because of the high salary and better living conditions as compared to our local league.
So Who Is To Blame?
Obviously the blame always fall at the door step of the Ghana Football Association who is in charge of all football activities in Ghana. It's surprising to know how much of attention is given the Black Stars when they are even preparing for a national friendly match. The level of enthusiasm and zeal which GFA officials attach to the course of the senior national team is unquestionable. Sponsorships keeps trooping in for Black Stars all the time. So why can't the GFA attach the same seriousness and enthusiasm to the growth of our local league? Why can't they help build and renovate our local football pitches to meet the international standards so that the style of play will rise in other to attract sponsorships. Are they interested in the growth of Ghana Football as a whole or just the Black Stars. I think the GFA has failed on the part of ensuring the development of our local league.
Can the GFA only be blamed? I think the Government also has a share in the blame cake. Football has now become a political tool for politicians to win power during elections. Hence every government will make sure Ghana qualifies for the world cup in order to win the trust of Ghanaians. They can go the extra mile of even airlifting huge sums of money to make sure the Black Stars are well cared for. Why can't government the Government also priotise the growth of our local league as it does with the Black Stars? Elsewhere in Europe and other parts of Africa, the Government takes it upon itself to make sure nice stadiums are built, clubs are supported financially intimes of difficulty but we see the opposite here in Ghana. National stadiums keeps deteriotating, new stadiums are not being built and clubs don't get the financial support to sustain themselves intimes of difficulty. All these contribute to the low standards of the local league .
Clubs themselves cannot be left out. Ghanaian clubs have always reluctant in going the extra mile to catch up with their peers outside. Bigger clubs like kotoko and Hearts of Oak cannot boost of an existing clun stores where jerseys and club parafelanias are sold. Thier websites and social media platforms are not constantly updated with club news and events as it happens elsewhere in Europe. They have been very lazy in finding ways to generate income to manage the affairs of thier clubs.Kotoko for instance, boost of the highest number of spectators in Ghana but can't fill half of the Baba Yara Stadium during matchdays. Clubs in Ghana lack proper management setup with the right people to manage the affairs of team to be able to attract lucrative sponsorship deals for thier teams. This have lead to thier inability to generate funds to mange the affairs of thier and most importantly to pay lucrative salaries as well as providing better living conditions for thier players.
THE WAY FORWARD
There should be a national interest where governmnent and the GFA meets other stakeholder and cooperate institutions to provide support for our local clubs. There should be organised workshops and seminars by the GFA for our local club adminitrators for them to be exposed to the new trend and the business aspect of club administration. This will enhance thier capacity in securing lucrative sponsorship deals to be able generate funds to mange the affairs of the club. Spectators also has a role to play. Huge stadium attendance will help clubs generate income and also promote interest of other cooperate bodies to come on board to sponsor these clubs. With these plans I have no doubt that Ghana local league can be one of the best in the Africa and the World.
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