The General Secretary of the Confederation of African Football, Veron Mosengo-Omba, has expressed worry over recent interventions by the Sports Ministry over the operations of the Ghana Football Association (GFA).
Following the exit of the Black Stars from the ongoing AFCON 2021, the Sports Ministry has suggested that the GFA reconstitutes the management committee of the national team as part of measures to improve the team’s standings.
“The money that the government puts for Black Stars to go for preparation, [it] is the natural right, a government has to check with the GFA how they spend each penny it is their natural right to check how it is spent. We encourage that,” Mosengo-Omba told a joint briefing of Joy Sports and 3 Sports in Cameroon.
He went on: “The red line is that the government cannot involve in the management of the federation, even if [the Black Stars] lose 10-0. They cannot say that we have to change the management [or] we have to change the coach. No, no, no! This is very dangerous. We don’t want to come back into [a period of] Normalisation again. This looks like interference. I beg the government, if this was the intention, please stop it. But I encourage them to check, to monitor the funds put into the operations.”
When Joy Sports asked the CAF General Secretary if the government does not have a right to have a say in matters of selecting managers of the national team, the administrator emphasised that the government has specific roles to play – and those bounds must be observed.
“The member association has been elected by the football family. It is they who decide how to internally organise themselves. And now, because you have lost [a] game, you’ve to change the rule? No. The role of the government ends with checking how [the FA] uses funds at its disposal. That’s it. You cannot go beyond that to say I want to see how you put number 10 or number 6. No, that’s not their business.”
In recent days, it has been widely reported that former Brigton and Hove coach of Ghanaian heritage, Chris Hughton, is a shoo in for the Black Stars job. However, it is said that the government, and not the FA, wants him to lead the side.
It is likely that this latest development will also cause similar dim views from CAF once it comes to their attention
