Once considered a pillar and powerhouse of African football, Ghana seems to have lost its spark at both club and national level football. Known to be a source of national pride with total domination from its national, club, and youth teams, that attribute seems to be a thing of the past now.
Experts and fans alike believe the quality of football in Ghana has retrogressed significantly to the point where our last major trophy at senior level was in 1982. The decline in our football can be attributed to a few factors which are as follows.
To begin with is the poor nature of our local league. The GPL used to be home to some of the greatest names in African football. Abedi Pele, Stephen Appiah, Michael Essien and Sulley Muntari all
began their careers in Ghana before moving on to pastures anew. The league unfortunately can’t boast of lots of talent as compared to the past. Ghanaian clubs find it difficult to make meaningful impact at inter-club competitions and this is a sharp contrast to previous era where they dominated massively.
Another reason for Ghana football decline is alleged corruption related cases. There’s been a few corruption related cases that’s engulfed Ghana football ranging from bribery to match officials to the Anas exposé. As a result of this, investors will not feel safe putting their money in entities of such caliber. A football without financial muscles cannot function properly.
Poor stadium and sporting infrastructure are another major reason for our football’s inability to progress. As a football nation Ghana cannot boast of up to four (4) FIFA
standard pitches. This has led to a major impact on the quality of football played in the country. Fans are attracted to quality and without quality and beautiful football they hardly make it stadiums to watch football. This takes us to our next point.
Low attendance at various stadia is another contributing factor to Ghana football’s steady decline. With fans not going to watch games it becomes difficult for clubs to generate income to run teams. As an ardent follower of Ghana football, the last time I witnessed a full capacity at any local league game was during the 2020-21 league season when Hearts of Oak played against local rivals Great Olympics. Attendance since then has been very unimpressive.
Lastly, are the allegations of match fixing scandals across some league centers. Over the past few seasons, GPL has witnessed questionable results which many have linked to match of convenience and in fact some have been. A typical example is the game between Ashanti Gold and Inter Allies during the last game of the 2020-21 season. This led to the suspension of some players by the football association. Acts like this drive spectators and investors away from the game.
Despite all these challenges, hope remains. Experts believe that investing in our local league and infrastructures, also accountability among administrators and support from government and private entities will go a long way to help.
In conclusion, football is still a crucial part of every Ghanaian home and is evident in the support given to the Black stars at the ongoing FIFA World Cup. The challenges may be dire but with the right measures in
place Ghana football can rise to its glorious past again
