The Executive Council (EXCO) of the Ghana Football Association (GFA) has called on President Akufo-Addo at the Jubilee House in Accra.
The meeting, which took place on Wednesday, December 20, 2023, was to officially introduce members of the newly elected council to the President and also to seek his support as they strive to provide equitable leadership to bring Ghana football back to the top.
The new Executive Council was elected into office on October 5, 2023, at an elective congress in Tamale for a four-year term.
Youth and Sports Minister, Mustapha Ussif, who facilitated the meeting, was in attendance.
The Executive Council was led by President Kurt Edwin Simeon-Okraku.
Others included Vice President Mark Addo, Dr. Randy Abbey, Nana Sarfo Oduro, Dr. Gifty Oware-Mensah, Samuel Aboabire, and Kingsley Osei Bonsu.
The rest are James Kwasi Appiah, Alhaji Abu Hassan, Gideon Fosu, and Eugene Nobel.
“Congratulations are in order on your re-election as President of the GFA, and also to the new Council, I want to congratulate you on winning your various seats to serve on the Board,” President Akufo-Addo said.
“As an avid football fan, I am very much aware of the challenges that confront us, as results have not been good in recent games. But you can count on me for the necessary support,” the President stated.
“We have the Africa Cup of Nations in a few days, and it is our responsibility to give the technical team and the playing body the needed support to succeed in neighboring Cote d’Ivoire.
“It’s been forty-one years since Ghana won the Africa Cup of Nations. If my memory serves me right, we have played in a couple of finals in recent times and lost on penalties in 2015. Expectations are very high, so let’s do our best to make this tournament a success,” he added.
For his part, Simeon-Okraku appealed to President Akufo-Addo to look into the law that bars alcoholic beverage companies from sponsoring football.
Other need areas included funding of the national teams, provision of a bus to the national teams as all 12 national teams currently use one bus that was acquired in 2008, payment of 17.5 VAT as charges during League games, and cost associated with clearing of national team apparel from the ports.
President Akufo-Addo took the opportunity to wish the Black Stars the very best at the Africa Cup of Nations in Cote d’Ivoire.
