GFA Elections: Amanda Clinton Grateful For Hearts of Oak Support

LAWYER AMANDA CLINTON

The only female aspirant of the upcoming Ghana Football Association (GFA) presidential election, Ms Amanda Akuokor Clinton, has expressed gratitude to Accra Hearts of Oak for nominating her.

According to Ms Clinton, she obtained the nomination from the CEO of Hearts, Mr Fred Moore, and is grateful that the oldest and one of the most important clubs in Ghanaian football decided to support her bid to improve Ghana football.

Reacting to controversies surrounding her nomination in an interview yesterday, she said as a legal practitioner she would never forge a statutory declaration because she understood the grave implications of such an action.

"I am very grateful and humbled that Hearts has formally supported me and given their stature and importance,” Ms Clinton told the Daily Graphic via telephone.

"I am appreciative and I have not heard anything about the owner of the club being upset with the decision. I think the media is trying to sensationalise this. I would rather focus on my vision and how I can and will move Ghana football forward if I am given the opportunity as the next President of the GFA".

"I plan on meeting with Hearts in the near future to expand my vision for association sports, particularly at the premier league since their administration has a copy of my manifesto," she added.

She also showed the Daily Graphic a copy of the statutory declaration signed by Mr Moore proposing and supporting her bid.

Ms Clinton said the Elections Committee had informed her that she had successfully met the initial requirements and she was preparing to meet the vetting committee.

Controversy
The guidelines released by the NC for the poll require presidential and RFA chairman aspirants to present declarations of support from at least five members (clubs) of the GFA, a matter which has in the past generated and is currently generating controversy.

This is because each member can present a declaration of support for only one candidate. If a member presents declaration of support for more than one candidate, all of his declarations shall become invalid.

The controversy which rocked Ms Clinton's campaign came to the fore a day after she submitted her nomination for the 2019 GFA Election on Friday, September 20, 2019.

A copy of the documents she submitted to the GFA Secretariat made its way to the Internet showing that Hearts had proposed her for the job.

In an unsigned statement, a day after Ms Clinton submitted her nomination for the 2019 GFA Elections, the Board of Directors of Hearts said they had not taken any such decision and urged the media to treat the reports that they had with contempt.

"The statement came from me and I was out of town, that is why it was not signed," Dr Nyaho- Tamakloe told the Daily Graphic.

Manifesto
In her manifesto titled, Metamorphosis of the Ghana Football Association, 'Excellence and Execution', Ms Clinton says she will support the growth of Ghanaian football locally and internationally whilst securing lucrative multi-million dollar sponsorship agreements. She said the money raised would go directly to strengthening Ghanaian football locally and internationally.

She says she would revise the leadership structure at the GFA and adopt a servant-leadership model used by successful organisations such as UPS, Ritz Carlton and Starbucks.

"Servant-leadership is a leadership philosophy in which the main goal of the leader is to serve. A Servant Leader shares power, puts the needs of the employees and subscribers first and helps people develop and perform as highly as possible in order to ensure the growth of the organization," the manifesto reads.

"I believe that if a servant-leadership model is adopted by the incoming leadership team at the Ghana Football Association, leaders will excel in their respective roles knowing that their primary function is to ensure the growth of the Ghana Football Association. I also think that I am the right candidate to lead this change with strategy, dedication and buy-in from local and international stakeholders".