Kuffour Deserves National Honour

19.06.2007 LISTEN

Dear Editor, I am proposing to the Ghana Football Association and indeed the Professional League Board (PLB) to design a special award to honour Emmanuel “General” Osei Kuffour for his contribution to Ghana football.

It may sound absurd to make such a suggestion at a time that we have stars like Stephen Appiah and Michael Essien, but let me tell you why.

Over the past two decades, we have had a surge in player exodus to the disadvantage of our local league but Kuffour has been loyal and a true friend to Ghana football.

It is fact that he did try to go outside the country to continue with his career but when all attempts failed, he was not let down but rather played his heart out for all the clubs he featured for.

Such characters need to be encouraged to serve as an encouragement to young players to know that even without travelling outside to play, one can still make it.

But for the Sports Writers Association of Ghana (SWAG), players like Kofi Abbrey and Yaw Serbeh may long have been forgotten. It took the initiative of SWAG to confer on these players, including Kuffour, the 'Dedication and Valour' award.

I think it is time the GFA and its allied bodies took the matter up and came up with a derseving award for Kuffour and the likes.

Even with his age and experience the player who contributed to Accra Hearts of Oak's 2000 conquest of Africa is still not part of the Black Stars. I may be wrong but I believe it is because of his outspoken nature.

But if we really want to produce a winning squad for Ghana at CAN 2008, players like Kuffour need to be considered. I would not want to mention names, but if I think about some of the players in the Black Stars, especially the strikers, I wonder whether these players were selected on merit or just becuase they have some godfathers somewhere.

Kuffour has proven time and again that when it comes to the art of goal scoring, he is about the best Ghanaian we have, so why leave him out. Let's be fair, for posterity will judge us.

Abdul-Baki Abdul-Basit,

Dansoman-Agege.