Former Obuasi Municipal Juvenile FA Chairman and businessman, Hon. Mohammed Issahaku has called on the Ghana Football Association (GFA) and the Ministry of Youth and Sports to as a matter of urgency, commit undivided attention to the development and promotion of juvenile football, which he prescribes as the only means to rekindle the nation’s seemingly dwindling fortunes in international competiton.
Hon. Issahaku, also Assembly member for New Nsuta Electoral Area in Obuasi Municipality and CEO of Golden Sports Africanwear and Business Centre who has in the past travelled to support Ghanaian national teams at international tournaments, insists the deviation from serious and competitive colts football across the country, unlike in the past, is responsible for the poor performances of the national teams.
“I’m very worried about the state of our football especially at the juvenile level where we have sunken so low that nowadays our under 17s and under 20s cannot qualify to even their Africa cups, let alone the World Cup,” Hon. Issahaku, a former CEO of Obuasi based colts side, Sam Jonah Babies, lamented.
Hon. Mohammed Issahaku decorates players of the winning during a ceremonial friendly match to celebrate the Muslim festival in Obuasi on July 1
“It is such a shame because if we look back to the past, during the times of Odartey Lamptey, Dan Addo, Sammy Kuffour, Awudu Issaka and co, it was so easy for us to qualify and do well at all these international youth tournaments. It makes me sad because I know we don’t lack the talents,” Alhaji Issahaku continued.
The avalanche of football talents that rise in many communities across the country has never been in doubt even in the face of total neglect.
That is why the Golden Sports Africanwear and Business Centre of Obuasi boss recommends the only antidote he believes is as clear as daylight for the authorities to do to reposition Ghana atop African and global football hegemony.
“For us to be able to do that (qualifying and doing well) regularly again, then the only thing we have to do is go back and do what we were doing back then,” Alhaji Issahaku asserted.
“We plead with the GFA and the Sports Ministry to deeply get involved in the organisation and development of the game at the colts and juvenile level because if we start going to the junior world cups regularly, our senior teams like the Black Stars and Meteors can only get stronger,” the former Obuasi colts boss proposed.
“So I’m just advising that we should concentrate and invest more in juvenile football and in the end, Ghana’s football future will be bright. When our juvenile football rises to top level, it will make the national teams strong and the future of Ghana football will be bright,” he affirmed.
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