President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has admonished the new President of the Ghana Football Association (GFA), Mr Kurt Okraku, to carve a new image for the Association.
The GFA has been bedeviled with a number of corruption allegations and shady dealings, which was revealed by Investigative Journalist, Anas Aremeyaw Anas.
President Akufo-Addo told the GFA Boss to leverage on the goodwill of the Ghanaian people to restore Ghana’s football to its former glory.
He said this when Mr Okraku and other officials of the Association called on him at the Jubilee House in Accra on Wednesday.
The President said Mr Okraku’s election to the high office of the Football Association demonstrated the goodwill he currently enjoyed in the industry and entreated him to capitalise on that to give local football a new face.
He advised the GFA President to work with all stakeholders in order to surmount the challenges that confronted football administration in the country.
President Akufo-Addo urged him to, at all times, be guided by the principles of good governance, transparency and accountability, which would only be successful if he adhered to the principle of taking decisions that would inure to the benefit of football.
He expressed optimism that the new Football Administration would put together strategies to restore the image of the game both locally and internationally, and wished Mr Okraku a successful tenure.
President Akufo-Addo assured the GFA President of the unalloyed support of his Government to realising his vision for the growth and development of Ghana football.
“You have to know that, so long as I am in this seat, you will have unalloyed support in the way you want to take Ghana football. It is not right that so many years have passed, and, yet, we have not won the big cups again. We have to go back to the winning ways that used to characterise our football. You have a big task ahead of you,” he said.
Expressing gratitude for the confidence reposed in him, Mr Okraku gave the assurance that he would work to rebuild the trust and restore the battered image of the Association.
He said the new Administration had taken a cue from the mistakes of the previous one, and would ensure a transparent and accountable tenure.
Source: GNA