| CAF | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Founded | 1957 |
| Headquarters | Accra |
| FIFA affiliation | 1948 as Gold Coast[1] |
| CAF affiliation | 1960[2] |
| President | Kurt Okraku |
| General Secretary | Prosper Harrison Addo |
| Website | http://www.ghanafa.org |
TheGhana Football Association (GFA) is thegoverning body ofassociation football inGhana, based in the capital city,Accra.[3][4] Founded in 1957[3] to replace theGold Coast Football Association which was founded in 1920, it organizes and governsGhana's football leagues,football cup competitions and national teams.
On 7 June 2018, the GFA was dissolved by the formerMinister of Sport,Isaac Kwame Asiamah, after the discovery of corruption in the association through investigative videos which later made upAnas Aremeyaw Anas'Number 12 exposé.[5] In October 2019,Kurt Okraku, was elected as GFA's new president after reconvention upon the completion of the work of theFIFA Normalization Committee.[6] Mark Addo was later elected vice president in November 2019.[7] Kurt Okraku was re-elected for a second term as GFA President during their 2023 Elective Congress inTamale, Ghana.[8]
The Ghana Football Association (GFA) is the successor to theGold Coast Football Association, which was one of the oldest football associations in Africa, having been founded in 1920.[9] The sport of football was introduced in Gold Coast by the European merchants in the late 19th century.[9] As the game became popular, several amateur clubs were formed along the coast.[9] Records indicate thatCape Coast andAccra were the first colonial cities insub-Saharan Africa to host formal leagues in theGold Coast. After a weak start in 1915, the league kicked off in 1922 with theAccra Hearts of Oak Sporting Club emerging as winners, taking the coveted Guggisberg shield – named after the progressive British governor of that period and the man who started the Accra Football League, SirGordon Guggisberg.[citation needed][10][11][12]
Association football was brought to the Gold Coast near the end of the 19th century by merchants from Europe, who had by then conquered the coastal areas and built forts and castles to facilitate trade. In their leisure time, the sailors would play football among themselves and with the indigenous people.
The popularity of the game spread quickly along the coast, culminating in the formation of the first football club, Excelsior, in 1903 by Mr. Briton, a Jamaican-born British citizen who was the then Head Teacher of Philip Quaque Government Boys School in Cape Coast. As the popularity of the game grew, other amateur clubs were formed along the coast, including:Accra Hearts of Oak, Accra Standfast, Cape Coast Venomous Vipers, Cape Coast Mysterious Dwarfs (nowCape Coast Ebusua Dwarfs),Sekondi Hasaacas andSekondi Eleven Wise.
In 1952, the Government of the Gold Coast enacted Ordinance 14, which established the Gold Coast Amateur Sports Council, and granted the Government of the Gold Coast the legal authority to control allamateur Associations, including Football.
As the popularity of the game spread throughout the country, the existing clubs met towards the end of 1930 and elected Richard Maabuo Akwei as their chairman.
Towards the middle of 1950, the clubs, spearheaded byOhene Djan, accused Akwei of maladministration and questioned his ability to help grow Ghanaian Football. They therefore addressed petitions to the Governor of the Gold Coast,Sir Charles Arden-Clarke, and the Pioneer Sports Organizer, Joseph Ranadurai, on the maladministration of the Amateur Football Association by Akwei. While the petition was being addressed,Ohene Djan led a "Football Revolution" and succeeded in toppling the Akwei Administration in 1957.
In 1957,Ohene Djan was elected General Secretary of the Football Association by the clubs and the Ghana Amateur Football Association was officially founded. He strategically affiliated the Association withFIFA in 1958 and theCAF in 1960.[2]
Ohene Djan was instrumental in securing sponsorship for the first Ghanaian FA cup competition from a pharmaceutical firm, Merrs R.R. Harding and Company. In the same year he succeeded in securing the services of an expatriate Coach,George Ainsley, for the National Team. Then in 1959, he succeeded again in organizing the first national league, before Ghana became a republic on 1st July, 1960.
Through the 1993 Winneba Declaration, Ghanaian football was able to shrug off its amateur status. The formation of professional teams allowed clubs to be incorporated under the companies code (Act 179, 1963) asLimited liability companies.[11]
The Association was dissolved 'with immediate effect' on 7 June 2018, after undercover journalistAnas Aremeyaw Anas revealed the amount of corruption in the association and Ghanaian football in general through his investigative documentary,Number 12: When Greed and Corruption Become the Norm. Referees and officials of the association were filmed taking bribes.[5][13] Former Sports MinisterIsaac Kwame Asiamah referred toKwesi Nyantakyi on Accra-basedJoy FM as a "former president" because all arms and affiliates of the GFA stood dissolved. Due to that the2018 Ghanaian Premier League was cancelled while FIFA banned Ghana from any international competition till further notice.[14][15] The GFA was set to reopen in August 2019.[15][16][17][18]
Elections were held in October 2019 and out of the six candidates who contested, Kurt Okraku emerged the winner.[19] In November 2019, the Women's League Committee was put together. The team was made up of Hilary Boateng (chairperson), Rosalind Amoh (Vice chairperson),Nana Aba Anamoah, Cleopatra Nsia, Jerry Dogbatse, Nana Poku Fosu Geabour II and Christian Isaac Mensah.[20] In January 2020,Prosper Harrison Addo was appointed the General Secretary.[21]
It was announced in early January 2020 that the technical crew of all the national teams had been disbanded. This was done with the intention of giving the sport a fresh start and enhancing the performance of the teams.[22][23] Pursuant to the disbanding, Mercy Efua Tagoe-Quarcoo andCK Akonnor were appointed head coaches of the Black Queens and Black Stars respectively. Mercy Tagoe-Quarcoo was assisted by Charles Anokye Frimpong and Charles Akonnor byDavid Duncan.[24][25] The National Teams Department was added to the outfit of GFA and Mr Alex Asante who is a Deputy General Secretary was appointed as its acting head.[26]
In September 2020, theCourt of Arbitration for Sport dismissed an appeal by Wilfred Kwaku Osei Palmer who, amongst others, sought to nullify the Ghana Football Association presidential elections conducted in October 2019.[27]
On 23 October 2020, the GFA signed an agreement withDecathlon Ghana, making the letter the official retail partner for Black Stars kits and equipment as well as other merchandising products.[28] The deal was extended for another four years in November 2024.[29]
On 14 September 2022,Access Bank Ghana became official banking partner of the GFA in a US$250,000 one-year deal.[30]PUMA is the official kit sponsor andGhana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) is the official sponsor of the senior national teams.[31]
The Ghana Football Association is made up of nine (9) national teams.[32] These teams are namely:
The Foundation's Projects and Programmes are defined by 5 thematic or focus areas summarized under the CARES acronym:[42]
The Ghana Amateur Football Association was affiliated withCAF in 1960,[2] and in 1963 won the bid to host the 5thAfrica Cup of Nations (AFCON), to coincide with the Meeting of the (OAU) Heads of States and Government in Accra. Ghana won the trophy and went ahead again to successfully defend it inTunisia in 1965.
After the 1965 triumph, Ghana hosted and won the 13th AFCON in 1978, and four years later, won it again in Tripoli, Libya. The team have won the AFCON four times (in 1963, 1965, 1978, and 1982), making Ghana the second most successful team in the contest's history, along withCameroon.
Although the team did not qualify for the seniorFIFA World Cup until 2006, Ghana has enjoyed tremendous success at the youth level, winning theFIFA World Under-17 title twice and finishing runner-up twice. Ghana has also finished second at theFIFA World Youth Championship twice.
Ghana became the first African country to win amedal inFootball at the 1992 Summer Olympics.
In 2009, Ghana became the first African country to win theU-20 FIFA World cup by defeating Brazil.[43]
With regard towomen's football, theGhana Black Queens have participated in two World Cup tournaments and theOlympic Games. They have also been runners-up to the Falcons ofNigeria in the Africa Cup of Nations series.
Ghana last hosted the AFCON Tournament in January 2008.
Ghana qualified for the AFCON Tournament in January 2017 after finishing top of Group H in the qualifying stages.[44]
Ghana could not qualified for the2025 Africa cup of nations for the first time since 2004.[45][46] Ghana football association apologized to Ghanaians for the Ghana black stars inability to qualify for AFCON 2025.[47][48][49]
| President | Tenure of office |
|---|---|
| Mr.Ohene Djan | 1957–60 |
| Mr.H. P. Nyemitei | 1966–67 |
| Nana Fredua Mensah | 1967–68 |
| Mr.H. P. Nyemitei | 1968–71 |
| Mr. Henry Djaba | 1971–72 |
| Maj. Gen.R. E. A. Kotei | 1972–73 |
| Col. Brew-Graves | 1973–75 |
| Maj. George Lamptey | 1975–77 |
| Maj. D. O. Asiamah | 1977–79 |
| Mr. I. R. Aboagye | 1979 |
| Mr. Samuel Okyere | 1979–80 |
| Mr. S. K. Mainoo | 1980–82 |
| Mr. Zac Bentum | 1982–83 |
| Mr. L. Ackah-Yensu | 1983–84 |
| Mr. L. T. K. Caesar | 1984 |
| Mr. E. O. Teye | 1984–86 |
| Mr. Samuel Okyere | 1986–90 |
| Mr. Awuah Nyamekye | 1990–92 |
| Mr. Joe Lartey | 1992–93 |
| Mr. Samuel Brew-Butler | 1993–97 |
| Alhaji M. N. D. Jawula | 1997–2001 |
| Mr.Ben Koufie | 2001–03 |
| Dr.N. Nyaho-Tamakloe | 2004–05 |
| Mr.Kwesi Nyantakyi | 2005–2018 |
| Mr.Kurt Okraku | 2019–present |
On Thursday 24th October, 2019, representatives from the Premier League, Division One League, and Women's Football came together at the secretariat of the Ghana Football Association in Accra to elect their respective representatives for the newly formed Executive Council.
Ten football administrators emerged as the chosen members for the 12-person Executive Council. This reconstituted council consists of distinguished representatives, including three from theDivision One League, two from the Regional Association, one from Women's Football, and the remaining posts filled by members from the Premier League.[51]
Below is the full list of the Executive Council
Premier League
Division One League
RFA
Women Football
An undercover investigation led byThe Telegraph andChannel 4 accusedKwesi Nyantakyi and other officials of the Ghana Federation of match-fixing. According to this investigation however, the allegations involved only international friendlies – thus, the matches theGhana national team played at the2014 World Cup were not affected by the allegations.[52] Kwesi Nyantakyi denied the match fixing allegations, saying, "the report of the newspaper or the media house is entirely not accurate," and "there is really no cause for alarm as far as I am concerned, because nothing untoward has happened involving me or the Federation".[53]
TheCourt of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) issued a ruling in favor of the Ghana Football Association (GFA) in a legal dispute involving Tema Youth Football Club over the transfer of wingerJoseph Paintsil to Belgian clubKRC Genk. Joseph Paintsil joined KRC Genk from Tema Youth in 2018, and a dispute arose regarding the proper application of Article 33(5) C of the GFA statutes, which pertains to the payment of a percentage of training and transfer fees into a football development fund.
The CAS ruling upholds the GFA's position, and as a result, Tema Youth must pay €150,000 to the GFA. They were also required to pay €688,000 to Young Redbull FC (Paintsil's previous Ghanaian club) and €150,000 to the Ghana League Clubs Association (GHALCA).
CAS rejected all claims brought by Tema Youth against Young Red Bull FC and similarly dismissed those targeting the GFA. Tema Youth was also ordered to pay the GFA 4,000Swiss Francs as a contribution toward legal fees and other expenses related to the arbitration proceedings.
This ruling marks the conclusion of a series of legal proceedings initiated by Tema Youth SC, which began when Young Red Bull filed a claim against Tema Youth concerning their transfer agreement for Joseph Paintsil. The GFA Player Status Committee and Appeals Committee had previously ruled in favor of the GFA in this matter.
As a result of the CAS ruling, Tema Youth SC, currently in Ghana's third-tier league competition, will continue to incur point deductions for each match played until their outstanding debts are settled. Additionally, a transfer ban, both domestically and internationally, will be imposed until full settlement or a mutually agreed-upon resolution is reached.[54]
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