Chief Executive Officer of Databank, Kojo Addae-Mensah has opined, the Ghana Premier League should not be cancelled and must be continued whenever it is safe to do so despite President Akufo Addo extending the suspension of sporting activities in Ghana specifically football.
President Akufo-Addo during his 10th coronavirus address on Sunday, May 31, 2020 eased a number of restrictions that were put in place initially to curb the spread of the covid-19 pandemic but major sporting events including football will remain suspended until July 31, 2020.
However, competitions or games that can be considered non-contact sports can go ahead. Games such as Athletics, Badminton, Table Tennis, Tennis, Golf, Power lifting, Weight lifting, Cycling, Draughts, Para Sports Rowing and Canoeing, Baseball and softball, Horse racing that require no spectators are allowed.
The Ghana Football Association has been working around the clock in the past weeks, considering a number of proposals in an attempt to make a final decision on the current campaign by June 30 but the association’s efforts appeared to have been proven in futility following the latest directive from the government.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with Y 102.5 FM, the astute football analyst quickly kicked against any decision to truncate the season stating, the season must be concluded once it has started.
“No, my position has always been that, once the league has started, we must finish it whenever we can.
“I have held this view right from day one that, I don’t support cancelling a season that had started to go and start one that you don’t even know about, it would have been different if the season hasn’t started at all but once it has started, we should find ways to finish it”. He said
Despite this call, he went further to state, stakeholder should rather focus on when to resume football when it is safe to do so.
“I mean, as we speak now, the players are all at home, there is no training going on and everybody is doing individual training so whether you announce cancelation or not, nothing has really changed.
“I think what we should be focusing on is how to get the game back in a safe manner because, we don’t even know what the future holds so why don’t we assume that, this thing has come to stay with us and try to put in the necessary infrastructure to bring the game back in a safe manner”. He added
Considering the state of financial distress the clubs have been plugged into, Kojo Addae-Mensah also suggested, the clubs should target TV deals in order to survive in the commercial space.
Source: Stephen Zando/ YFM
