Herbert Mensah To Contest For Ghana FA Presidency?
Unconfirmed information reaching Modernghana.com Sports desk suggest that the president of Ghana Rugby Association, Mr Herbert Mensah is set to confirm his interest in contesting for the Ghana Football Association top seat.
Since Mr Kwesi Nyantakyi resigned as the boss for the country's football governing body in June prior to the airing of the 'Number 12' video by Anas Aremeyaw Anas, the FA top seat has been unoccupied.
The former CAF 1st vice president was implicated in the documentary which was focused on corruption in football administration in Ghana and in Africa.
The world football governing body [FIFA] has installed an interim committee to run the day to day affairs of the football in the country.
The Normalization Committee which is led by Dr Kofi Amoah has been given a task to restore football to its normalcy after the controversial video collapsed the foundations of Ghana football and are expected to leave office on March 31, 2019.
Elections are expected to be conducted to elect a new president for the Ghana FA before the Normalization Committee leaves office.
However, top football administrators in the country such as MTN FA Cup chairman, Kurt Okraku, former Ghana FA Veep, Goerge Afriyie, former Black Stars management committee chairman, Fred Pappoe, Tema Youth FC owner, Osei Kweku Palmer, Alhaji Karim Grusah, Alhaji Raji, Phar Rangers owner, Nana Yaw Amponsah among other personalities have publicly declared their interest in vying for the FA position.
But information available to Modernghana.com indicates that Mr Mensah has received the backing of top government officials and will in no time declare his interest in contesting for the seat.
According to our source, Mr Mensah is ready to negotiate with government to pay players salaries when he is given the nod as the president of the Ghana FA.
The renowned football administrator has been tipped to vie for the position but has consistently rubbished claims of contesting for the country's football governing body top seat.
Mr Herbert Mensah who is a former Chief Executive Officer of the Kumasi Asante Kotoko revolutionalized football in the country, courting a lot of fans for the game.
Anas Aremeyaw Anas himself testified about the prowess of Mensah in his write up on his latest exposé titled Number 12: When Misconduct & Greed Become the Norm.
“Herbert Mensah of Asante Kotoko was the man who lit the fire of competitive rivalry that spurred the rainbow club on. Indeed, two years after Hearts’ Champions League triumph, Herbert also took Kotoko to the final of the erstwhile CAF Cup Winners Cup, missing the trophy on the away goal rule to WAC of Morocco.
“Herbert’s marketing and branding prowess saw Kotoko emerge under his leadership as arguably the most advertised institution in Ghana. George Amoako and the late Amoah Bosompem also played commendable roles in Herbert’s administration, together with Jarvis Peprah who later led the club,” Anas said about Herbert Mensah.
Achievements for Ghana Rugby
Ghana Rugby achieved a series of accolades in fewer than four years since the astute businessman and sports administrator Mensah and his administration took over on 5 June 2014.
The Union put in a series of governance and administrative measures to ensure compliance with World Rugby requirements. In addition, it managed to successfully host and win the 2017 Rugby Africa Regional Challenge – West 1 by beating both Benin and Togo in May 2017.
Shortly after this victory, World Rugby acknowledged the efforts of the Union by awarding it Full Membership of World Rugby on 10 May 2017. This step opened the doors for Ghana rugby to seriously pursue Mensah’s vision of taking Ghana Rugby to higher levels towards entering the global stage of rugby in terms of World Rugby tournaments and the Olympics.
In October 2017 it managed to get a ranking for the first time on the Rugby Africa Men’s Sevens circuit.
Winning the Africa Bronze Cup ensured that Ghana Rugby qualified for the Rugby Africa Silver Cup in 2019, a step that brings it closer to the Gold Cup and to a shot to qualify for the Rugby World Cup.