President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo says he intends to unveil a presidential policy on football that will scout, unearth, and develop talent at the grassroots.
He made this statement during his penultimate State of the Nation address to Parliament on Tuesday, February 27, 2024.
President Akufo-Addo noted that Ghanaians have been left disappointed since the Black Stars participation in the 2014 World Cup, followed by some recent poor results.
According to President Akufo-Addo, it was time to take a long term approach to correcting the wrongs, especially after the recent disappointment at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.
“Mr. Speaker, I believe it is time for us to take a long-term, far-sighted approach to correcting what has gone wrong. It is time to return to scouting, grooming and developing talent at the district grassroots level under a Presidential Policy on Football that I intend to unveil.
“The school sports department of the Ministry of Education will work hand in hand with the Ministry of Youth and Sports, in collaboration and synergy with the Ghana Football Association (GFA), to build district, regional and national juvenile teams for both boys and girls.
“The more than one hundred and fifty (150) astro turf pitches constructed throughout the country, under this administration, provide the foundational facilities to make a start, as we strive to provide more of them. We should see a steady progression of talent up the ladder from the junior juvenile teams to the senior sides based on merit, and nothing else.
“A similar approach has been tried before, under the five (5)-year football development plan, led by the late Ben Koufie, and initiated under the NPP administration of President JA Kufuor. It was under this plan that talents such as Michael Essien, Sulley Muntari, John Mensah, Derrick Boateng and later, Asamoah Gyan and Stephen Appiah, were discovered and nurtured.
“The results became evident to us and the world. It takes time, dedication and patience. We cannot harvest where we have not planted and irrigated. I have no doubt at all that the Black Stars will rise and make us proud again,” he said.
GNA