Sports Features of Friday, 6 May 2011

Source: Raymond Yeboah

Division One Middle League being manipulated by the powers that be

At long last my previous articles on SportsInGhana.com and Ghanaweb about how some of the executive committee members of the Ghana Football Association (GFA) who own clubs are using their powers to destroy the game of football in this country have been confirmed as true by one of the executive committee members himself.

Over the years, the venue of Zone 1A Middle League matches have been in Kumasi but today the venue has been changed to Accra to suit certain clubs who have powerful FA members behind them. The sudden change of the venue by the Division One League (DOL) Board, to me, is baseless and their explanation specifies how they want to destroy and thwart the effort of Zone 1 clubs which because of their hard working and competitive nature of their zone always get a slot in the elite division.

The Division One League Board led by Ntow Fianko and his deputy Nana Denkyi, are hereby challenged by Brong Ahafo Region to come out and explain vividly how and when they took that premature decision that Zone 1 clubs will no longer play their matches in Kumasi which is very close to their destination, and instead dispatch them to far away Accra and Tema to honor this year's Middle League.

All indications and *SportsInGhana.com* investigations prove that the so-called powers that be in Ghana football realize that Brong Ahafo clubs in the Glo Premier League are many hence there should be an unsuspecting reduction.

lf today one of the executive committee members in the person of Kingsley Osei Bonsu (Zico) has felt the heat and could share his sentiment on the leading Brong Ahafo sports radio station – Ark FM – that he feels there is somebody out there manipulating the system, then football loving Ghanaians ought to bear with this writer about how those executive committee members who own clubs in our various leagues are using their influence to kill our game.

The Division One League Board in their ploy to quench the rise of Brong Ahafo football, are using this Middle League as a weapon to cut out the prospect of Bechem United to the elite division so their evil intentions goes with the change of the venue and even how they changed the venue of the first round matches of Bechem United and Unity FC match from Accra Sports Stadium to Dansoman Carl Reindolf Park where the executive committee member and owner of Unity FC, George Afriyie also serves as a board member to the club that plays in that stadium, Liberty Professionals, attests to the above analysis.

The mind of the Division One League Board as at now is to prevent the Brong clubs to qualify so if at the end of proceedings, Unity FC or Guan United backed by another football guru, MND Jawula, do qualify at the expense of Bechem United, nobody should be surprised. Unity FC, though based in Hwidiem in the Brong Ahafo region, is not going to remain in the region. It would be taken away when qualified to the Premier League, so l don't consider them in my story as Brong Ahafo club. That’s the unconfirmed report we are gathering.

The Brong Ahafo clubs in the Glo Ghana Premier League apart from B/A Stars who are already relegated must fight hard to survive the league because if aside B/A Stars another club is relegated from the region, the region is doomed. So Yakubu Moro and his Berekum Arsenals boys should work hard to remain in the league because from what is going on l don't think they will allow Bechem to qualify.

A word to the wise---------