Ghana meets FIFA on GFA reforms

ACCRA, August 11 -- A four-member combined team from the Ghana Football Association and the sports ministry will meet with officials of football?s world governing body, FIFA in Zurich tomorrow.

The team, comprising deputy minister of education and sports, O.B Amoah, Prof. Kofi Kumado, acting FA chairman Kwasi Nyantakyi and the general secretary of the Ghana Football Association, Kofi Nsiah, left Accra last night to meet with FIFA over some thorny aspects of proposed structural reforms to the Ghana federation.

The party would seek to impress on the world body the need for the new GFA to maintain a healthy working relationship with the government in the administration of the game.

FIFA has called for the removal of the three National Sports Council representatives on the new executive committee and congress after a careful study of the first draft of the reform document.

But after some discussions with the three-man ministerial committee, the congress elected Nyantakyi committee decided that it would be impossible to alienate government from the administration of football in Ghana considering its prominent role in the development of the game.

The GFA?s Congress at an emergency session last month deferred voting on whether to carry out FIFA?s directive, agreeing instead to have a joint team from the sports ministry and the FA meet with the world body to discuss the issue.

The four will return home on Saturday after the crunch meeting on Friday.