GFA, Tema Youth Clash Over €3m Transfer Money

The Normalisation Committee of the Ghana Football Association (GFA) and Tema Youth Football Club are locked up in a legal crossfire which could end up in the corridors of FIFA in the coming days.

Investigations by the Graphic Sports on the matter revealed that the founder and sporting director of Tema Youth FC, Wilfred Kweku Osei, is heading to FIFA to seek the intervention of the world soccer governing body.

Palmer's decision is a swift reaction to a legal action reportedly taken by the solicitors of the FA’s caretaker body against the club for failing to pay 10 per cent transfer fee to the GFA in respect of the recent transfer of Joseph Paintsil.

The GFA is demanding its share of the landmark transfer fee of 3million euros earned by Tema Youth from Belgian side, Genk, for the transfer of the Black Meteors striker last summer.

When contacted, the Tema Youth boss confirmed the story and said he was only waiting for his lawyer's advice for his next line of action.

Tema Youth are alleged to have signed an undertaking to pay 10 per cent of the transfer fee prior to the release of the player's International Transfer Certificate (ITC) by the GFA.

However, the club insists that FIFA rules frowned on payment of money by clubs to their parent associations for an ITC, hence its reluctance to perpetrate what it describes as an illegality.

Palmer hinted of heading to FIFA soon to seek interpretation to settle the dispute.

But the outspoken club administrator is handling the matter gingerly in view of his ambition to run for the next GFA presidential election.

When contacted, the president of the Normalisation Committee, Dr Kofi Amoah, declined to comment on the issue.