Ghana Football Advocates Rally for Change in Accra Streets

Hundreds on Wednesday joined the “Save Ghana Football Demonstration” which was meant to exert pressure on the government, the Ministry of Youth and Sports, as well as the Ghana Football Association (GFA) to find a lasting solution to the dwindling fortunes of football in Ghana.

The street protest, which started at 10 am in Accra from the Obra Sport at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle, ended at the Independence Square.

Participants held placards with inscriptions such as: “We must evaluate our football infrastructure,” “Football is not politics, stay off,” “Use World Cup revenue to develop football,” “Government must pay all the national team coaches,” “Football is not only Black Stars,” “Lack of facilities is killing our game,” “Go back to Ben Koffie development plan,” “Our football needs togetherness, not division,” “Taxpayers are very worried,” “Black Stars is not a cash avenue for GFA,” and “Abolish taxes on the importation of football products,” among others.

Some of the placards also read: “Lack of vision for our football,” “Decline in our juvenile football,” “Grow our sports not your football clubs,” “We used to be the Brazilians of Africa, what happened,” “Football is the soul of the nation, fix it,” “We are no longer a football nation,” “Only a deliberate policy can save us,” and "Sacking coaches is not the panacea to our challenges.”

According to the conveners, the street protest, which was also seeking reforms in the governance of Ghana football, became necessary after the Black Stars' poor performance and early exit from the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations held in Cote d’Ivoire.

The conveners included Sports Journalists Saddick Adams of Angel Broadcasting Network, Patrick Osei-Agyeman of the Multimedia Group, Veronica Commey, formerly of the Ghana News Agency, Dan Kwaku Yeboah of Despite Media Group, Lawrence Brenya of Global Media Alliance, and Felix Romark of Asaase Radio.