Dr. Amoah jabs GFA over anti-foreign league telecast

Chairman of the CAN 2008 Local Organizing Committee, Dr. Kofi Amoah, is urging the Ghana FA to draft a comprehensive plan to rebrand the Premier League to revive the patronage of the domestic top flight.

Dr. Amoah’s comment follows GFA spokesperson, Ibrahim Sannie Darra’s call on Parliament to ban the live telecast of foreign league matches on local free-to-air television stations as a measure to increase the following for the local league.

Aside landing an improved sponsorship deal for the Premier League, the GFA has done little to promote and brand the domestic top flight, in an era where player exodus has shot up.

“Banning the telecast of foreign leagues so that people will be forced to watch our league won’t work. You can’t force a person to watch something that is not interesting to them. At this point, I think it is premature. We don’t have a plan. If we had a wholesome plan, that will be good. It has to be a comprehensive solution, thought out properly,” Dr. Kofi Amoah told Accra-based television station TV3 Network.

“So, we can watch our home games and also watch European games. Is our home league matches attractive enough for people to watch? If it is, then there is no issue to discuss,” he added.

TV3 Network is the only free-to-air television station that has the broadcast rights to televise this season’s English Premier League while Metro TV and GTV Sports Plus share the rights to show the German Bundesliga.