GFA Chief Speaks on Football Violence Impact, League Return

GFA Director Talks About Impact of Football Violence, League to Resume Soon

The recent violent incident that led to the death of popular Asante Kotoko fan, Nana Pooley, has sparked a lot of concern. Henry Asante Twum, Communications Director of the Ghana Football Association (GFA), said the violence is damaging to the league’s image and progress.

“It affects our image as an entity,” he said. “It also makes things difficult in our quest to secure sponsorship for a competition. Sometimes it even affects the status or the image of our players.”

He explained that the issue goes beyond just crowd trouble. “When you have players leaving your competition, the only thing that can be used to describe them is coming from a league marred by violence, marred by hooliganism, crowd issues. Sometimes they even talk about extending beyond crowd issues,” he added.

Despite these setbacks, Fredrick Acheampong, a GFA Executive Committee member, shared some good news. He hinted that the Ghana Premier League could start again soon.

“One of the agreements is that we will meet with the supporters’ leadership,” he said. “Next week, we will have another meeting with all match commissioners. They know the protocols, but we need to refresh them.”

Acheampong further noted, “If no further issues arise, the league can resume the following weekend.”

Efforts are being made to ensure a peaceful and safe return for football, with the GFA working to engage supporters and officials to prevent similar incidents in the future.

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