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Soccer News of Sunday, 23 June 2002

Source: GNA

Fifa Takes Final Decision On Prampram Goal Project

The Federation of International Football Associations (FIFA) will meet in the first week of July to take a final decision on the Prampram Goal Project which it has approved for Ghana.

In this regard the Ghana Football Association (GFA) is expected to furnish the world football governing body with information on the project, including project detail description, detailed estimate, plans, consultant contract proposition, title deed, site plan and the project total cost.

Mr. Ben Koufie, Chairman of the GFA told GNA Sports on Thursday his association is leaving no stone unturned in their determination to see the project, which has been dubbed 'Centre for Sports Excellence' come to fruition.

He said all stakeholders in the project held a meeting at the Ministry of Youth and Sports on Tuesday under the chairmanship of Mr. Edward Osei Kwaku, the sector minister, to ensure that all FIFA demands are met in time to facilitate a quick take off.

The Chairman said so far, the Ministry of Youth and Sports has spent a total of 8,600,000 cedis in the land acquisition process, and the final procedure would be sorted out with the owners within the next few days.

He said the amount expended covered preliminary survey, site survey and production of site plan and traditional commitments classified as 'knocking fees', site inspection, preliminary documentation and the presentation of four bottles of schnapps to the traditional authorities.

Mr Ben Koufie said the project would include hostels, playing fields, recreational facilities and modern amenities, which would make it convenient for national teams to be camped there.

The centre would also host a soccer academy from where talents would be groomed for the national teams.

Also in attendance at Tuesday's meeting were, Mr. Joe Aggrey, Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports, Mr. Kofi Nsiah, General Secretary of the GFA, Mr Emmanuel Afranie, Technical Director of the Ministry, Mr. Ben Kusah, the structural engineer and Mr Emmanuel Oko Adjetey of Planarchitects, architects of the project.

Others were Mr. Edward Nutuo, Executive Secretary, Land Valuation Board, Chief Director of the Ministry of Youth and Sports, a representative of the Lands Commission and representatives of the Prampram Traditional Council FIFA accepted to include Ghana in the Goal Project when the GFA Chairman forwarded an application to them in February this year.

The Goal Project is an assistance programme which the world football governing body has initiated to help poor countries develop their game and it was one of the strong points of the Blatter campaign in the run up to the just concluded FIFA presidential elections which he won with a landslide over Issa Hayatou.