GFA's 'Number 12' Rebuttal Was “Emotionally Unintelligent”- Randy Abbey

A former spokesperson to the Ghana Football Association has described as “emotionally unintelligent” a statement issued by the Executive Committee of the Ghana Football Association shortly after an investigative piece-Number 12- was premiered.

Randy Abbey said the statement issued by the GFA to deny the content of the investigative piece was a missed opportunity for the Committee to “demonstrate leadership” and to show the world that it was committed to major reforms in the face of these damning allegations its members.

Rather, Mr Abbey said the statement was a wanton attempt by the Committee to “go on with the status quo” irrespective of the damning revelations made against elements within the FA.

He was speaking on Joy FM’s news analysis programme Newsfile Saturday on the Anas Aremeyaw Anas investigative piece which has led to a 90-day ban imposed on the president of the GFA Kwesi Nyantakyi.

Mr Nyantakyi has since announced his resignation from CAF, WAFU GFA with a charge of defrauding by false pretense still hanging around his neck.

He was captured in the investigative piece collecting money from a ‘businessman’ who unknown to him was an undercover investigative reporter.

He also demanded an amount of $11 million from the businessman, an amount he said would be paid to Ghana’s president and key government functionaries as “appearance fee” which will help him [businessman] spread his business influence in the country.

The video, excerpts of which were shown to the public, has generated a lot of anger towards the FA with government beginning a process to dissolve the FA.

But the former mouthpiece of the FA said he was not at all surprised by the revelations of the Anas investigative piece titled “Number 12.”

“If Number 12 shocked you, then you haven’t followed football…” he said.

If anything, Randy Abbey said it gave “a validation of what was either happening or what the FA members themselves have said was happening or what the public have accused the FA members of doing.

He said he was 101% sure that issues of referees and appointment committee members taking bribe, allegations of agency fees and people doing things that are untoward are not new.

“They have largely remained at the realm of an allegation; Number 12 gave an audio-visual validation,” he stated.

Lack of leadership

Randy Abbey who, until his elevation to the FA, was the spokesperson of Accra Hearts of Oak said the Executive Committee members of the FA failed to show leadership in the immediate aftermath of the Number 12 premiere.

He did not understand why in the wake of the revelations members of the Executive Council met a couple of times with Nyantakyi sitting in as president and taking decisions on behalf of the FA.

He was even more appalled with the statement issued by the GFA denying the content of the investigation and accusing the TigerEye PI group, the company that conducted the investigation of not inviting them to watch the content of the video.

According to Randy Abbey the statement apart from being emotionally unintelligent was written even before Number 12 was aired.

According to him, the writers of the statement put it together without even seeing the content of the video.

Having shown a gross lack of leadership and with the public angered by the content of the video, Randy Abbey said the government was right in its initial attempt to want to put things in order.

However, he said government went overboard with its decision to dissolve the FA as an entity.

He did not understand how individuals within an institution are deemed to be corrupt yet the government decides to dissolve the institution itself, something he said was alien to FIFA.

Way forward
Randy Abbey said whatever roadmap adopted, the paramount objective will be to have “a credible football association.”

He said the current path the government has taken which is to dissolve the FA “will not bring us that [credibility]."

He would rather government sat with the clubs and fashioned a way forward for all.

“I will also ask the current FA executive committee to resign en bloc for an emergency congress to be held and new members elected,” he proposed.

But the government insists the dissolution of the FA is the right way to go.

A Deputy Attorney General Godfred Dame who called into the Newsfile programme insisted government had the support of FIFA and will continue with its plans.