[ 2014-11-26 ]

Organise League more professionally
The founder of Oweriman football club, Nana Batafo
Acheampong Nti, says the time has come for the
First Capital Premier League to be organised more
professionally to make it interesting enough to
induce local players to give of their best.

In an interview with the Graphic Sports, he said
the lack of professional touch in the Premier
League had not only made it ordinary but had also
affected the performance of locally-based
players.

That, he said, had also created a situation where
the Black Stars’ technical team over-rely on
foreign-based players during tournaments.

“Countries such as Cape Verde, Congo
Brazzaville, Gabon and DR Congo, among others,
which were regarded as minnows in soccer are now
performing creditably in international
competitions with players who are not playing in
Europe.

‘This is because they have a much more cohesive
and interesting league which motivates local
players to nurture and develop their talents,”
he observed.

Describing the present Stars squad as ordinary, he
said unless the Ghana Football Association (GFA)
consciously developed a system of injecting
interest into the local league to motivate local
players to compete meaningfully with foreign-based
players, Ghana will continue to be mere
participants in international tournaments.

“The Black Stars have once again qualified to
participate in the AFCON tournament in January
next year but these are not players who can
achieve something meaningful for the nation in
such a major tournament,” he noted.

While describing the Stars defence as porous, he
said the midfield was also not cohesive enough to
propel the attack to deliver.

Nana Batafo, who is also the chief of Konongo,
said with such a short period to the 2015 AFCON
tournament, it was important for the FA to
collaborate with the Stars’ technical team to
find antidote to the weak Stars defence, as well
as oil the midfield to help sharpen the attacking
machinery.

Source - Daily Graphic

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