Ghana to approach FIFA for special World Cup dispensation

The Ghana Football Association will approach FIFA for special dispensation to play Premier League games during the World Cup, according to GFA President Kwesi Nyantakyi.

The Ghana Premier League finally kicked off this weekend after being postponed by over a month due to an ongoing legal dispute.

While Nyantakyi is relieved to see the tournament get underway, he's desperate that plans to align the Ghanaian domestic calendar with Europe don't go awry, and may need to extend the GPL through the World Cup in order to fulfil all fixtures.

"FIFA says that by June all leagues must end and this applies strictly to all countries, particularly those going to the World Cup," Nyantakyi told KweséESPN, "but we are not going.

"We will negotiate with FIFA so we can slot matches in on days when there are no matches at the World Cup," he added."It's important for us to synchronise our calendar with Europe because the clubs need it to be able to stay competitive, especially in the transfer market."

While Nyantakyi believes that the attendances across Ghana during the opening weekend of the season demonstrate that the GPL is still popular, he's acknowledged that he doesn't know when the ongoing legal challenges that affected the launch will end.

"I can't give you any assurance because I don't control those who are taking the GFA to court," he continued. "We've had cases like this before which have been resolved. It's problematic.

"When I meet people from FIFA and tell them about clubs taking the federation to court, they marvel," he said. "The normal thing is to seek redress at the FA and the Court of Arbitration for Sports if you are not happy.

"Once a decision is made, we are duty bound to stick by that. We will never deviate," the GFA boss concluded. "My appeal is that much as they have a right to seek legal action, these should go through the football processes."