By: Daniel Yao Akpabli | ignewss — Accra, Ghana
President John Dramani Mahama has urged the Ghana Football Association (GFA) and club administrators to urgently collaborate to improve the standard of domestic football and restore the country’s defunct Colts League.
The President raised concerns about what he described as the declining quality of the domestic league when a joint delegation from Medeama SC, Nations FC and Ampem Darkoa Ladies FC paid a courtesy call on him.
President Mahama attributed part of the challenge to the early transfer of promising Ghanaian players to foreign clubs, particularly in Europe.
“We are too quick to sell our players. As soon as a player shows promise, scouts take him away, mostly to Europe, and that depletes the quality of our local league,” he said.
He called for measures to retain talented players in the domestic league for longer periods, allowing them to develop and gain international exposure before securing moves abroad.
According to the president, promising players should be given opportunities to represent the national team and acquire the experience required to compete at higher levels before making permanent moves to foreign leagues.
President Mahama also questioned the current state of grassroots football development, particularly the Colts League, which for decades served as an important pathway for nurturing young football talents.
“I do not know what happened to it, so I want to ask the Football Association: what has happened to the Colts League?” he asked.
He said the revival of grassroots football was essential to rebuilding a strong pipeline for the development of future national team players.
Call for Greater Investment in Women’s Football
The President also called for increased investment in women’s football, noting that Ghana’s female teams have achieved significant success despite receiving comparatively less financial support.
“Our women have won more trophies for us than the men, and yet we put all the money into men’s football,” he said.
He advocated affirmative action in the allocation of resources to women’s football, stressing the need to provide female teams with the financial and institutional support required to compete successfully at the international level.
President Mahama further pledged to increase allocations to the Sports Development Fund once it becomes fully operational.
He said the fund would provide a sustainable mechanism for supporting the development of sports across the country and ensure that resources are distributed across different sporting disciplines.
Government Supports Ghanaian Clubs in African Competitions
As part of efforts to support Ghanaian clubs representing the country in continental competitions, President Mahama presented a combined financial package of GH¢684,000 to the three visiting clubs.
Medeama SC received GH¢342,000 to support its ongoing CAF Champions League campaign ahead of its second-leg preliminary clash against Congolese side TP Mazembe on Saturday, September 12.
Nations FC received GH¢228,000 towards preparations for its CAF Confederation Cup fixture against FC Diarra.
Ampem Darkoa Ladies FC received GH¢114,000 to support its participation and ambitions in continental women’s football.
Senior officials from the Ministry of Sports and Recreation, the Ghana Football Association and the National Sports Authority (NSA) attended the meeting.
President Mahama’s call places renewed emphasis on strengthening the domestic football structure, developing young talent and creating a more sustainable pathway for Ghanaian players to progress from grassroots football to the professional and international stages.
SOURCE: www.ignewss.com