The General Secretary of the Ghana Football Association, Prosper Harrison Addo has urged teams in the Women’s Premier League in Ghana to set and maintain their own high standards of sporting behaviour and professionalism.
Mr Addo says he is disappointed by recent developments in the women’s game with increased tension and misconduct on match days.
“Let’s get back to our welcoming environment, which was very nice and accommodating,” he said.
Mr Addo was speaking at a leadership and development seminar for women’s football club executives under the auspices of Betway Ghana, the official development partner of the Ghana Women’s Premier League.
Mr Addo expressed the GFA’s commitment to promoting women’s football, revealing that the GFA has appointed a woman to its board, following FIFA’s initiative to ensure that every country has a woman on the board of their football federation.
“Every position in the women’s game should be occupied by women. We are going to invest with our partners to train more women coaches and ensure full participation of women at all levels of football governance,” he said.
He also emphasized the importance of fair play in football and the need to adhere to FIFA’s disciplinary codes and the core values of the GFA.
“Fair play is expected in football, so you can’t play a game and say you can’t practice fair play. You have to shake hands at the end of every game regardless of whether you won or lost,” he pointed out.
The seminar aimed to promote football governance and equip the executives with the necessary knowledge to develop the women’s league. It was held concurrently in Accra and Kumasi with participants in the two venues connected by video link.
Administrators from teams in the Ghana Women’s Premier League took part in the event, along with industry experts and facilitators who joined the seminar via video link from South Africa to share their expertise and experience. They included Warren Engelbrecht, a former operations manager at Orlando Pirate FC in South Africa, Meskerem Goshine, the Head of CAF Women’s Football, and Julius Ben Emunah, the club licensing manager at the Ghana Football Association.
Mr Engelbrecht spoke on strategic management. He emphasized the need for strategic steps in implementing the best ideas. “You can have the best idea in the world but if you do not take strategic steps to implement them, you can’t achieve your goals,” he said.
Madam Goshine instructed attendees on the dynamics of stakeholder management. She highlighted the importance of stakeholder management in football governance saying, “Stakeholder management is crucial to the success of any club.”
Mr Emunah guided attendees through club licensing procedures and policies. He urged the participants to adhere to the standards and requirements of club licensing. “The purpose of club licensing is to uphold and protect the professionalism of teams,” he said.
