The 2003 National Premier League, which is scheduled to kick off on Sunday, May 11 at all the league, centres across the country, is expected to be tougher league as compared to that of last year.

Views sampled by the GNA Sports from football administrators revealed that the anticipation of participating clubs is very high and people are looking forward to an exciting league.

According to most Ghanaians the level of preparation put up by all the teams this year gives credence to the fact that the nation is going to witness a competitive league which at the end would improve the quality of play on the local scene and attract more people to the stadium.
Mr. Ben Koufie, Chairman of the Ghana Football Association (GFA) said in an interview with the GNA Sports that the pre-season has been very good and all the clubs have prepared well for the season.
According to the FA Chairman, he is expecting a keener and a competitive league this time adding that the 2003 league would definitely be an improvement upon that of last year.
He expressed the hope that the league would be devoid of acts of indiscipline that might cause unnecessary delays.
On his part, Mr. Yussif Adam Ibrahim President of the Executive Council of the GFA, told the GNA Sports, " this year's league is going to be full of surprises and one can hardly tip the winner".
He said the traditional clubs like Hearts and Kotoko are going to face stiffer oppositions from the other clubs since they have put in a lot of preparations to give them a good run for their money.
Mr. Ibrahim said the league is no longer going to be dominated by only two clubs because he is expecting other clubs to be in a close race with Hearts and Kotoko.
The Executive Council President said he is also looking forward to an improved officiating this year as it would contribute greatly to the success of the league.
Mr. Douglass Djarbeng Chairman of the Division One League Board (DOL) stated categorically " this year, I think is for Kotoko, there is no doubt about that".
He said Kotoko has proven to all that they are ready for the league title taking into consideration their performance during the pre-season.
Mr. Djarbeng on the other hand bared his heart out for newly promoted Heart of Lions saying " they would cause a surprise, they have prepared well and enjoy the backing of the entire Volta Region, it is good sign for them".
According to him he has seen a great level of seriousness in the new club adding that they even train on days other clubs are resting, " I think they are capable of taking every body by surprise".
The DOL chairman said defending champions Accra Hearts of Oak needs to revamp their team before they can really make any impact this year.
"I think Hearts are declining in their six year rule of the domestic league and this year might not be theirs" Mr. Djarbeng told the GNA Sports.
"We are not ready to go through what happened to us last year and we have revamped our squad with some young and talented players for the league and I'm looking forward to a better league this year" These are the words of Mr. Eric Michel, Team Manager of Power FC.
He said our players have also been well motivated for the task ahead and they are going to put up a good performance to place well in the league.
Mr. Michel said with the presence of good teams like Stay Cool Professionals and Heart of Lions, the premiership would bring a lot of excitement and make the league tough.
The Team Manager however called for a level playing grounds in terms of officiating for all the sixteen clubs in the premiership.
Alhaji Abdul Karim Grunsah, Chairman and bank roller of King Faisal Football Club said, " Insha Allahu we shall win the league".