Accra, Aug. 13, GNA – The Executive Council of the Ghana Football Association (GFA) has approved $100,000 to purchase 6,000 footballs for grassroot football development with the Federation of International Football Association (FIFA) Forward 1.0 programme.
The President of the Association, Mr. Kurt Edwin Simeon-Okraku on Thursday, disclosed this when he met the Executives of the Greater Accra Regional Football Association during a working visit at the Accra Sports Stadium.
According to him, the footballs will be distributed to the 10 Regional Football Associations to use at the Juvenile League game centers, Women’s Division One Clubs, Second and Third Division Clubs and the Juvenile U-17 inter club champions league.
This is one of the landmark projects earmarked under the FIFA Forward 1.0 programme.
The decision is to make a greater amount of footballs available to the Regional Football Associations (RFAs) for their competitions and for the development of football at the Regional and District level.
Mr. Okraku said « What is very clear is that we have grassroots football at heart. If we place premium on grassroots football our League will get better and that will have an effect on our National teams,. President Okraku said « Let’s bear in mind that in the period where our youth teams were dominant on the International stage, our Black Stars was always strong.
« Indeed, we still believe that this is not enough but this is a big statement from the football Association. This will know will help grassroots football especially at your game centres for your Juvenile games, Women’s games. I am excited about this day, because this a gig commitment from the GFA.
« We will continue to work with CAF, FIFA and the government to make sure that we get the best for grassroots football.”
Aside the 6000 balls to be purchased with the FIFA Forward 1.0 project, it would be recalled that the GFA, early this month announced that a decision has been taken to construct two Astro Turfs at Prampram and at Bolgatanga.
The federation had also announced the decision to invest $280,000 into a strategy to improve competitions via the provision of boreholes at game centres across the country with funding from the FIFA Forward 1.0 programme.
