Govt's views on GFA reforms ignored

Accra, May 20, GNA - The Ministry of Education and Sports and the Ghana Football Association (GFA) are in dialogue on government's stake in football and the legal status of the FA.

A three-man committee constituted by the ministry about a month ago to submit proposals on its behalf to the five-member GFA Reform Committee met with the top brass of the FA on Tuesday to brainstorm on some of the problematic areas of the draft vis-=E0-vis the incoming new sports bill.

But it is likely that the ministry's concerns might not be incorporated into the final draft before it is submitted to the world soccer governing body FIFA early next week.

Mr Kwesi Nyantekyi, Vice Chairman of the GFA, told the GNA Sports in Accra that before any alteration was made, the document aught to be sent back to Congress, the highest decision making body of the GFA, for members to agree, which does not look likely.

He said most of the concerns raised by the ministry's committee, including increase in government's representation in the 24-member Executive Committee, had already been dealt with.

Government representation was raised from one to two, cleverly placed under the National Sports Council.

But Mr Ace Ankomah, a tax lawyer and a member/secretary of the Ministry's Committee, said taking into cognisance government's role as the provider of most sports facilities and a major financier of all the national teams, it was only proper that it was made to have a "reasonable" stake in football.

The proposed Executive Committee is made up of the President, which shall be elected by Congress, 10 duly elected members from the national clubs, 10 from the Regional Football Associations (RFA) two representatives from the National Sports Council (NSC) and one from the Schools and Colleges.

The ministry also suggested a smaller draft document so that the details could be captured in the GFA by-laws.

The GFA's unincorporated status, which makes the FA ineligible to sue but it could be sued, was also looked at with the committee suggesting either a Guarantee (similar to NGO) or a Trust status. FIFA said in a letter dated March 23 to GFA Secretary Kofi Nsiah that the GFA statutes were extremely complex with the superposition of three bodies, the Congress, the Executive Council and the Management Board.

The letter ordered the GFA to streamline and simplify its structures with a four-power system - the legislative (congress), executive (executive committee) and judicial (disciplinary and appeals committees), as was the case in FIFA, Confederations and football associations around the world FIFA also stated that it frowned on the appointment of government nominees.

Sequel to this, Congress formed a five-member reform committee a month-and-a-half ago to draft the roadmap that would effect the needed structural changes at the FA. Ghana was given three months to complete the reform process. 20 May 05