Ghanaian football has lost out on a lucrative sponsorship opportunity worth more than $5 million annually, all because of regulatory restrictions. This revelation came to light when Ghana Football Association (GFA) President Kurt Okraku appeared before Parliament’s Youth and Sports Committee to discuss the challenges facing the sport.
Okraku told lawmakers that Guinness Ghana Limited had approached the GFA with ambitious plans to invest heavily in the Ghana Premier League. “We were approached by Guinness Ghana Limited wanting to invest heavily in the Ghana Premier League. We did whatever we had to do. We had series of meetings. At the end, FDA said no. The deal was, if I’m not mistaken, over $5 million a year,” he recounted.
The proposal, however, failed to materialise after the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) declined to approve the sponsorship arrangement, citing existing restrictions that prevent alcoholic beverage companies from sponsoring sporting activities in Ghana.
Okraku appealed to the committee to champion efforts to remove these restrictions, arguing that Ghanaian football is being denied opportunities enjoyed by leagues in other countries that partner with major alcohol brands. “Mr Chairman, if there’s one thing that you can do to help sports and football, that will be for you to lead the charge to completely take out that provision,” he urged.
Beyond the missed sponsorship, the GFA President pointed to other significant challenges: poor playing surfaces, inadequate stadium facilities, and limited investment in technical development. He emphasised that lasting success in Ghana’s football would require consistent investment in grassroots and youth football, coach education, international exposure for local coaches, effective scouting systems, and quality playing pitches.
“If one has to be honest, Mr Chairman, there is a lot more that brings sustained success in football. This includes, but is not limited to, continuous investment in grassroots football, continuous investment in youth football, sustained and continuous investment in coach education, exposing your coaches to the international market,” Okraku said.
He warned that without sustained commitment to these areas, Ghana would continue to struggle for consistent success on the continental and global stage.
Source: Apexnewsgh.com