President of Ghana Division One Club Phar Rangers FC, Nana Yaw Amponsah, has revealed that the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic has affected his club both positively and negatively.
In a virtual discussion themed ‘Effects of COVID-19 on Football Clubs in Ghana’, he disclosed that prior to COVID-19, the club hosted the players in a camp. However, with the outbreak of the virus the players were sent home.
According to him, even though this decision affected the players, it saved the club a lot of money. “As a bankroller, I can say that we are saving money from the money that we use for cooking daily for the boys”, he added.
He expressed his sympathy to football players during this COVID-19 era.
“Losing six months or a year in your career as a footballer is like losing two to three years in a normal career.
As football clubs, we have not lost our players, just that, we are losing time”, he said.
He noted however that the club has also been negatively affected in terms of finances. “On the flipside, we are also losing money. We are paying for electricity, water, etc. ”, he said.
He admitted that the struggle to secure sponsorship during the pandemic has worsened because even before Coronavirus, football clubs were struggling to secure sponsorships.
He, however, advised football clubs to focus on Information Technology (IT) as he believes that “in this COVID-19 era, one thing that has survived is IT”.
The Virtual discussion on the ‘Effects of COVID-19 on Football Clubs in Ghana’ is the second virtual discussion among key sports personalities organized by Ghana’s number one sports station, Happy 98.9FM. The first virtual discussion centered on the effects of COVID-19 on Ghana’s Sports Industry.
By: Alberta Dorcas N D Armah
