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The Ghana Football Association (GFA) clarified that a decision had not yet been made regarding the fate of the country’s national football season.
GFA President Kurt Okraku said discussions were ongoing about what steps to take since soccer activities were suspended in mid-March due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Okraku made the statement when he appeared as a guest on a local program to discuss the effects of COVID-19 on Ghana’s sports industry.
“As we speak, it is not decided whether the Ghana Premier League will be canceled or not. We are still in talks,” said Okraku.
Okraku said the GFA had turned itself in until the end of June to make a decision and was considering all scenarios, in its commitments to stakeholders.
“I want to ask for calm; We will make a decision in everyone’s interest. We will communicate our decision if we decide to cancel or cut the season, ”said Okraku.
Okraku said the GFA did not want to jump to the option to cancel the season and declare a winner, as some countries have, as it had serious ramifications.
“If we are to cancel the league, it will be another difficult period for players, clubs, referees and everyone involved in soccer,” he said.
“Since 2017, we have not played a league and been declared the winner, which is a big problem because no sponsor wants to partner with a product that is consistently inconsistent.”
The socio-economic well-being of soccer players and clubs around the world has been seriously affected, as Ghana is no exception. As Okraku admitted that he did not have exact figures on the amount of revenue that clubs would lose if the top league were canceled, he called for patience as the GFA waits for relief from the funds.
“We are also waiting for FIFA to speed up the process and obtain the COVID-19 emergency fund. We expect two funds from FIFA. The FIFA forward and the FIFA COVID-19 fund, ”said Okraku.
Okraku said he was sympathetic to club owners who still had to pay wages, even when their incomes had been cut, but added that the GFA intended to respect FIFA’s decision not to touch footballers’ wages.
The African Football Confederation (CAF) had previously written to member associations to set a deadline of May 5 to decide whether they intend to continue their national season or call for a premature end to the campaign.
However, the deadline ended with several nations still deciding on the next course of action as governments fight to stop the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Several African countries have already announced the cancellation of their national soccer seasons due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The nations are: Angola, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Congo-Brazzaville, DR Congo, Mauritius and Niger. Kenya’s decision to cancel its season will be reviewed by a dispute court.
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