A Premier League in Crisis!

Mooted as the best Premier League on the continent of Africa and third and second respectively before that has conveniently allowed the media to use these accolades to paint over the cracks as they focus only on the progression of the Ghana Black Stars in their 2014 Brazil World Cup campaign.

The world over has sat back and admired the way in which the Ghana Black Stars have tended to maul their inter-continental opponents through the World Cup qualifiers especially the 6-1 whipping of the Egyptians in the penultimate fixture.

It certainly makes good reading, in fact a compelling read as we flip through the pages of a seven-year period that has propelled the Ghana Black Stars into international prominence with dazzling displays at two successive World Cups.

As the prospects of appearing for the third successive time looms larger than life with only 90 minutes in Cairo being the difference between the Stars the fact that they have been led to qualify and are ultimately being led into the World Cup by a Ghanaian Coach is a feat that may take a while to be repeated.

It certainly all looks rosy in our garden but the truth has yet to really be told!

Just a cursory glance at the state of the Ghana Premier League will tell you that crisis far from looming is upon us as night meets day. In seven days there have been outcries from several Premier club owners who have threatened to sell their clubs in absolute desperation of the fact that they have no more money at their disposal to continue running the clubs.

This week alone the General Manager of Sikka FM Radio Station has had to donate Ghc 1000 to Kumasi Asante Kotoko FC and King Faisal to assist them to cover some routine expenditure! Its an horrendous situation for club owners to be in and it demonstrates vividly that there are two major concerns in Ghanaian football that’s despite our success; so to speak internationally; locally Ghanaian football is on a life support machine and has been for several years.

As if to buttress my point as I write the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of Bechem United FC has publically appealed to corporate bodies in the country to come to the aid of the club in their quest to make a strong showing in this year’s Ghana Premier League.

I find this approach absolutely amazing. There is no decorum or professionalism in the approach or lets say appeal just open despondency. The clubs don’t have the capacity to make themselves commercially attractive to corporate Ghana and so instead depend solely on the sponsorship derived initially from the Ghana Football Association; and remember there was even a court case about that!!!

The Ghana Football Association itself also does not have the capacity to make the Premier League attractive and once capturing Glo as the headline sponsor it is a fact that they were unable to ensure that the sponsors (Glo) received the desired visibility, awareness and brand projection and this is one of the main reasons for the consternation of the sponsor to even pay what they by law actually owe.

When you consider that Glo have had the sponsorship monies reduced from the originally agreed amount; of $3,000,000 per season; at every stage of the negotiations for eventual payment with the Ghana Football Association succumbing to that then should give you an understanding of how despondent Club and Association are.

It has even got to the lowest ebb where supporters are now publically putting up winning bonuses to clubs to defeat their closest rivals in order to keep their own parochial League Championship status alive and kicking. Is this what we are calling professional?

In the wake of these startling revelations the Ghana Football Association has finally come out to say that they are considering taking the telecommunications giant Glo Ghana Ltd to court because of an outstanding arrears of over $6,500,000! The amount; if we are to believe what we are being told is to cover two seasons!

The possibility of another company taking over and providing the much-needed cash to keep the Premier League alive does not look as if it will be forthcoming anytime soon. And it does not appear that the Marketing and Sponsorship Committee of the Ghana Football Association has the capacity to work up a sweat and do something to retrieve the situation! Why they don’t just pack up their bags and resign is beyond me. I mean have they ever raised a penny for Ghana football before?

The only success story and potential breakthrough this week came about when the UT Bank donated $30,000 to the Amidaus FC and the payment of $12,500 to each club from the proceeds of the television and broadcasting rights secured by SuperSports

Whether we like it or not the victories we have chalked internationally even though laudable have and continue to leave a bitter taste in the mouth. International success does not come cheap and the price we have ended up paying will have long-term implications of the future success of the Ghana Black Stars and all the other national teams for that matter. In fact ironically it is synonymous with the success of the English Premier League because in that scenario it’s the English national team that’s the victim of the Premier League’s success!

Your welcome to disagree…….