'We need a specific policy to improve Divsion One' - Odotei
King Faisal Chief Executive, Vincent Sowah Odotei, has identified strategic policy formulation as one of the biggest solutions to improving the quality of the Divison One League. Odotei makes this statement after a successful return to the Glo Premier League last Friday.
King Faisal defeated Sekondi-based Hasaacas 2-0 at the Tema Park last Friday after the first leg ended goalless at the same venue last Wednesday. King Faisal have, by this feat, been able to achieve their target of returning to the Premiership in one season.
According to the King Faisal CEO there is the need for clubs in the second tier to have professional managers who will adopt modern management practices to facilitate their growth.
Odotei who was the studio guest on the Joy Sports Link Saturday, said the introduction of club licensing in Ghana football will hopefully change the face of our game locally. “I have been talking about the need for us to enforce the club licensing regulations in our local football for some time now and I am glad that at our next congress this will be introduced,” he said.
Vincent Sowah Odotei thinks that the requirements of clubs licensing that will ensure that clubs will have certain basic structures so that the practice where clubs are run from the cars of individuals will be a thing of the past, are absolutely necessary.
He revealed that playing in the Division One League is tough for many reasons including poorly resourced match venues. “Some match venues in the division one league do not even have changing rooms,” he said.
“We need to sit down and design our football in Division One based on a certain position we want. Domestic football does not attract the best people. We must put ourselves in a situation where a PR person who works at Multimedia for instance can be employed to work as a PRO of a local football club,” Odotei told the Joy Sports Link.
He also identified a huge policy gap at the executive committee level of the Ghana FA. “There is no scientific policy formulation to help the direction of the Division One league. So we need to draft a policy which will be biased towards improving the Division One League,” he said.
According to him, the development of the Division One League will always stagnate if club managers continue to use lack of money as an excuse. This is largely because many clubs have suffered from lack of sponsorship over the years and have been unable to run properly. “Club licensing will ensure that our clubs are packaged properly and presented well to potential sponsors so that they will have confidence in getting big returns when they invest in the clubs,” he said.