Good communication in every face of human lives is the foundation for understanding between two or more parties and an essential element in making progress.
The importance of communication in sports can not be underrated if the synergy between stakeholders in the sporting fraternity will progress.
The Communication Department of the Ghana Football Association (GFA) must be commended for their excellent and creative spirit in disseminating the right information to the football fraternity in Ghana.
Headed by Henry Asante Twum, the communication department of the GFA has distinguished itself in various ways and has come up with good initiatives that are helping Ghana football.
On Friday 25th September 2020, head coach for the Black Stars, Charles Akonnor named 23 players for international friendly matches to be staged in Turkey. The games were against Mali on October 9 and Equatorial Guinea. Equatorial Guinea, however, have pulled out of the game due to travelling restrictions.
The call-up for the friendly was ‘odd’ this time around compared to the normal way Ghanaians have witnessed over the years. Over the years, whenever a head coach of the Black Stars wants to announce players for a game or a tournament, a press conference is organised by the GFA at a hotel for the ceremony to take place.
This time round, the squad was made known to the public through the GFA News on Facebook; an initiative by the communication team to disseminate information to the public.
Hosted by the GFA spokesperson Henry Asante Twum, the GFA News initiative has saved the GFA financially. This is because organising a press conference comes with a lot of cost. The cost involves securing a place for the press conference, branding and decoration of the venue, calling of media houses who at the end of the day may also incur the cost and the presence of supporters union at these ceremonies which sometimes also incurs cost.
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A typical example of the points listed above happened on 3rd March 2020 when coach C.K. Akonnor named his first squad ahead of an AFCON qualifier against Sudan. The GFA organized a press conference at Accra City Hotel with sports journalists and supporters unions in attendance.
We all can attest to the fact that organising a press conference with relevant people in attendance incur cost. Therefore, the idea to announce the squad through the GFA News initiative has saved the FA a lot of money.
Another point which might be overlooked by many is the fun some Ghanaians made out of coach C.K Akonnor’s first call up in March. The former Black Stars captain had difficulties in mentioning the names of some players and their teams.
The GFA News has catered for this.
The pre-recorded GFA News has helped football fraternity in Ghana to know the activities of the GFA. This has created a good bond between the FA, media and the public.
One notable thing about the GFA communication team is its social media presence. The team provides timely information on the activities and decisions taken by the FA through their various social media handles. This is most of the times done through edited videos, posters or fliers and pictures.
For instance, after CK Akonnor announced his squad for the friendly games, the team came out with fliers on their various social media platforms quoting the exact words of the coach in regards to the call ups.
It’s high time we all begin to appreciate the good work of the GFA, especially the communication team. It has served as a good bridge between the FA and the public.