Dr Bawumia urges CAF to make inter-club competitions attractive and rewarding

Ghana's Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has urged the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to strengthen CAF inter-club football competitions to make it financially rewarding for clubs on the continent.

Clubs which participate in Africa's inter-club competitions often complain that they incur huge debts due to insufficient funding.

Welcoming the new CAF President, Dr Patrice Motsepe, to the Jubilee House yesterday, Dr Bawumia congratulated him on his recent election and also urged him to ensure that CAF's club competitions were strengthened by making it more financially rewarding through a partnership with the private sector.

"I think with your election, generally, there has been so much excitement about it because as a club owner; the clubs know that you understand their problems, so sitting as CAF President, you can help them.

"One of the things I will like to see is that for the African Inter-Club Championship, you know that it is not financially rewarding and we will really like to see it strengthened a bit so we see how we can bring about some financial benefits from participation because the clubs are generally financially weak," said Dr Bawumia.

The Vice-President also commended the new CAF President's personal commitment to developing grassroots football across the African continent through the CAF Pan Africa International School Football Championship, as well as to CAF for some of its recent reforms.

The CAF President, who is in Ghana on a two-day visit, also commended the government of Ghana, as well as both President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and Dr Bawumia for their commitment to the development of football in Ghana.

Dr Mostepe, who took over the leadership of African football last March, was accompanied to the seat of government by the Minister of Youth and Sports, Mr Mustapha Ussif, and the Ghana Football Association (GFA) President, Mr Kurt Simeon-Okraku.

Later today the GFA will organise a breakfast meeting for the CAF President at the Kempinski Hotel in Accra where he will confer with Mr Ussif, some past and present football administrators, GFA Executive Council members, selected corporate executives and the media.

The South African business tycoon will round off his two-day visit with a donation at the Dzorwulu Special School.