We want to learn from the Bundesliga - Saani Daara

The Ghana Football Association (GFA) on Monday said it intends partnering with the German Bundesliga, the public relations officer of the GFA Ibrahim Saani Daara has told the press.

"We want to learn so many things from the Bundesliga. If Germany has a policy that attracts families to come out to watch matches then it is something we can learn from them. If they have been able to brand themselves to a point that they have more stadium attendances than the English Premier League for instance, then it is something worth learning from.

He said the Bundesliga clubs manage to get better results, in terms of winning titles, than the EPL teams, which also has a large following, and so believes the GFA can learn from this partnership.

"We are negotiating with them to let some of our club officials to visit them to learn some new things. We are also mindful that there are some Ghanaian former internationals who can also play a role between the Bundesliga and the Ghana football Association and even work with them as analyst, ambassadors, commentators and the rest.

"This is a complete gamut of things that we want to advance with the Bundesliga, it is going to be a bilateral relationship, there is no contract, we need help from them but we can't force them to help us. We hope by next year we would visit to further strengthen our relationship with the Bundesliga.

Saani Daara rubbished the rumours about the displeasure of the new television right holders, Startimes, with respect to the delay of the start of the premier league.

"Startimes have not expressed any worries with regards to the delay of the Ghana Premier League, they don’t have a problem at all, and they are even now trying to settle in Ghana, we are working very closely with them

"They have not expressed any reservations, they would wait on us to give them the date. They are very proud to work with us as one of the foremost leading leagues in Africa and the partnership we have with them is a long term one that will benefit both sides.

"We have had various proposals on the commencement date of the league but no conclusion has been reached yet. We are restarting the Gala tournament, we also have to play the super cup before the league starts.

"We are also thinking about the impact of the AFCON on the league if we are to start before it, these are things we need to think through. When we started last year's edition there wasn’t any competing event at that moment so the competition started an on a very good footing, so the interest was there right from the beginning to the end. We want to have that this year too, Saani Daara noted.