The President of the GFA (Ghana Football Association), Kwesi Nyantakyi is calling for more corporate support to develop football from the grassroots level.

He said corporate involvement would help Ghana maintain high standards in the game both locally and internationally. He was speaking at the presentation of 2,000 Puma manufactured balls to the Juvenile League Board and the Women’s League Board to aid the development of the game.

Over a five-year period, the GFA has almost single-handedly sponsored the leagues at that level, but Nyantakyi explained that more cash injection is needed to improve on what the sport body has done so far.

“These donations are aimed at assisting the various leagues in the regions and districts, organisers of the various leagues need equipment and money. We hope these balls will go a long way to helping them improve their organisation.

“The game has since taken a different look all because of the injection of huge capital. We have the human personnel but are lagging behind with the funding needed for such talented players to develop.

“A huge chunk of the resources has been borne by the FA with the support of FIFA and other sponsors. But we are still lagging behind. We need serious capital to bring the standards of the juvenile and women’s leagues to that of the Premier and division one competitions,” Nyantakyi told the media.

“There are more than 3,000 juvenile teams and the numbers for the women’s league keeps growing by the day. Lots of females are getting involved in the game. Funds are needed for training of personnel, referees, medics and building capacity. It’s a whole lot and it certainly requires the support of the corporate world to assist.

“The FA takes care of the fees for the registration of players, provides funding for officiating and with that of the women’s league, we pay for the transportation and officiating fees. This picture explains the need for corporate assistance.”