Blueprint to save ghana football abandoned
-Despite capturing it in Dzamefe Commission’s report
By Elvis DARKO, Accra
It has emerged that a comprehensive proposal to salvage the sinking fortunes of Ghana football has been included in the Justice Senyo Dzamefe report.
However, the forward-looking proposal, prepared by some of the best technical brains, has been left to gather dust for nine years after the Commission submitted its report.
Former Ghana Football Association (GFA) President, Ben Coffie, Former Black Stars coach, Sam Arday, Veteran coach and FIFA-approved Technical Director Francis Oti Akenten, Former Assistant coach of the Black Stars, Mas-Ud Didi Draman, former Black Stars psychologist Prof. Joseph Kwame Mintah, and Coach Christopher Nimley were part of the team.
The revelation was made by Coach Nimley while speaking to Jerry Halm, the host of Zed in the Morning on Zed 101.9fm.
Providing details, he explained that the plan needs a minimum of three years to implement strategies to revive the sinking fortunes of Ghana football to enable the country to regain its lost glory.
Football academy for each region
Revealing more about the proposal, he said every region is required to have a football academy, starting with regions with high populations such as Greater Accra, Western Region, and Ashanti Regions.
MMDAs to establish football academies
In addition, Coach Nimley disclosed that the plan tasks all Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDAs) to establish football academies within five years of the plan’s implementation.
Upgrading of Ghanaman Centre of Excellence at Prampram
According to him, the proposal requires the Ghana Football Association (GFA) to upgrade facilities at the Ghanaman Centre of Excellence at Prampram in the Greater Accra Region by providing additional structures such as educational facilities since the players need formal education.
The educational part of the plan, he said, would be done in collaboration with the Ghana Education Service (GES).
Talent search
Regarding talent search, he stated that a technical team will tour the country to identify young talents from 12 years and above to be trained and groomed for national teams at all levels.
Coach Nimley explained that the target is to promote players aged 15 years old to under-17 after two years, and in the same vein, under-17 players will progress to under-20, all the way to the Black Stars.
He announced that the technical team would teach the selected young players the rudiments of proper player development.
He is confident that when these players are unleashed, it would ensure a proper transition, and Ghanaians will witness the transformation of football.
He cited Morocco, Senegal, Mauritius, Mauritania, and other countries where plans are being implemented, and the results show clear improvement in their football.
Philosophy and identity
Coach Nimley said the implementation of the plan would have resulted in the institution of a philosophy and identity that will be used to train all the players.
Cost of project
According to him, the team provided the cost of the project and included the inflation calculation.
He identified selfishness and greed as the reasons Ghana football is sinking.
Justice Dzamefe Commission of Enquiry findings
The Justice Dzamefe Commission of Enquiry, initially established to investigate matters related to the Black Stars’ participation in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, presented its report on March 30, 2015.
The three-man commission operated from August 4, 2014, to December 11, 2014, addressing public concerns about the early exit of the National Football Team, The Black Stars, from the tournament.
The 3-Member Commission comprised Justice Senyo Dzamefe, a Justice of the Court of Appeal and Chairman; Moses Foh-Amoaning Esq., a Lawyer and Sports Administrator; and Kofi Anokye Owusu Darko, a Sports enthusiast.
The commission produced a 400-page report based on the testimonies of 87 individuals who appeared before the Commission, both in public and in private sessions, as well as during regional tours.
The report highlighted three main adverse findings regarding Ghana’s World Cup efforts:
Most of the procurement carried out by the World Cup supporters’ project team did not adhere to the laid-down procurement policy or Ghana’s Public Procurement Act 2003 (Act 663).
The organization of airlifting and feeding of supporters lacked proper documentation.
Questionable costs were observed throughout the process of organizing Ghana’s World Cup participation.
In summary, the report revealed that the Ghana Football Association (GFA) received and allegedly misused or embezzled $2 million from GNPC and $1.5 million from FIFA for the same purpose – organizing friendly matches for the Black Stars to prepare for Brazil.
The report called for an investigation into Kwesi Nyantakyi (separately from the GFA as an entity) for the inability to provide documentation for a $200,000 imprest from the sports ministry to organize a friendly game during the 2014 World Cup qualifying period.
Additionally, the report highlighted that the GFA spent $685,000 in unclassified and indemnity payments, which the GFA justified as “provisions in the budget that the Ministry releases for contingencies not defined in the budget and have since been treated as unaccountable imprest.”
