WOMEN FOOTBALL CLUB OWNERS PETITION PARLIAMENT ET AL

 Owners of Premier women football Clubs in the country are to petition the Parliamentary Women Caucus, the three former Presidents, the Chief of Staff at the Presidency among other influential individuals to impress upon the government to rescind its plans to dissolve the Ghana Football Association.

The Women football club owners are concerned that ramifications of the eventual dissolution of the GFA would be more disastrous for the socio-economic progress of the country than anticipated. This sentiment was expressed at a media interaction in Kumasi.

Women Football and Expose

Even though Ghana is now running amateur women football league at the premier level, the relevance of women football to the Ghanaians society cannot be downplayed. 

The sector is keeping many young females active and winning laurels for the nation. Currently, the U-20 team is preparing for another FIFA World Cup in Uruguay later this year while the Black Queens are also to host their counterparts from other parts of Africa this year in the African Cup of Nations football tournament, also this year.

 Until now, all these teams were in camps stepping up their training for their respective international assignments.

 But, at the instance of the government, the High Court has placed an injunction on all football activities in the country following which the national teams have broken camp while the national women football league which was also in progress has been put on hold. 

The situation has started impacting harshly on women football clubs in the country. There are about 16 clubs taking part in the national zonal women premier league which serves as the feeding ground for the various national female soccer teams. At a media interaction to discuss the raging rift between the government and the Ghana Football Association stemming out of the expose of alleged corruption in football in the country. The premier women football clubs argue that Ghana stands to lose greatly, not only in women football, but socio-economically too. 

The Media Interaction

 Spokesperson for the Women Football Club Owners, Nana Opoku Fosu Gyeabour, who is also the Chief Executive Officer of the Ampem Darkoa Football Club, said the female footballers would be the worst affected if government carries through its plans to dissolve the GFA.

He noted, at the national and international level, FIFA is likely to ban Ghana from competing in any international football activity. 'A FIFA ban will mean we cannot participate in the upcoming World Cup events we have qualified for. Some of our players only receive Allowances as income to fend for themselves and their families when they play football at the national level', Nana Gyeabour lamented.

He said 'if the GFA is dissolved, our players who are traveling abroad to play football cannot get their International Transfer Certificate to secure their contracts.'

 It is for this and many other serious consequences that the Club owners have resolved to use every reasonable available means, including a petition to the Women Caucus in Parliament, the Chief of Staff, three former Presidents and others to get the government to rescind its plans to dissolve the GFA, the body responsible for the management of football in the country. 'We are appealing also to the 1st Lady, Mrs. Akufo-Addo, the second Lady and the Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection to step in to save the situation and the innocent girls' the Ampem Darkoa CEO appealed

In an interview, the Chief Executive of the Northern Ladies Football Club, Mr. Sumani Basirudeen, noted that, apart from providing a means of livelihood to the 32 players in his team, the Club is also financing the formal education of some of them including seven who are at the tertiary level. Therefore, any policy that negatively affects women football will jeopardize the socio-economic wellbeing and development of the female players.