The English Premiership, the Spanish Primera La Liga, the Italian Serie A, the German Bundesliga, the Dutch Eredivisie and the French Le Championat (Ligue 1) are the most preferred leagues Ghanaians and for that matter Africans currently enjoy most, much to the detriment of the local league.
A short walking distance even from the countryside shows a sign post with the inscription “DSTV matches live”. These and many other places have now become the order of the day where people pay between 50p to GH¢5 to watch live international football matches on various local and international TV channels.
These developments have made even the weakest teams in these major leagues very popular. A typical class 3 pupil can and will be able to give the line-up of Chelsea, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Arsenal and even Tottenham Hotspurs. But, ask that same child the first eleven players of Asante Kotoko, Hearts of Oak or Ashgold and the child cannot go beyond two names. This is a dangerous development which must promptly be addressed by stakeholders of the globular leather in Ghana.
Gone are the days when the venue for crucial matches involving the two powerhouses in Ghana football (Asante Kotoko and Hearts of Oak) drew massive following to the various stadia but now what do we see? Virtually empty seats greet matches involving the so-called bigwigs in this country, no matter the stakes.
Many sports enthusiasts have come up with varying reasons as to why this is happening. They claim the influx of mediocre players in the domestic league has culminated in the poor attendance of matches. However, this analogy is true to an extent because in times past, many supporters thronged the various stadia just to catch a glimpse of the Joe Debrah’s, the Shamo Quaye’s, the Abdul Razak’s, the Mohammed Polo’s and in recent times, Charles Taylor and Michael “Ember Power” Osei. They claim the local league is now bereft of the stars of yesteryears and has really affected the standard of play. Many pundits however think the league and for that matter the matches are not marketed well. The argument is that the more the said match is marketed well, the more people will be eager to watch them. As a matter of fact, the Communication and Marketing Department of the teams are obviously under performing their functions, suffice it to say they are not doing anything at all.
Another point is the nature of the pitches. The quality of the pitches and the stadia are quite uncomfortable. With the exception of the four stadia built for the 2008 African Cup of Nations, the rest of the stadia used for the domestic league has very terrible facilities. Soccer fanatics do not even feel safe watching matches at these centres obviously due to security lapses at such stadia. These are places where lives and properties are always threatened when the home teams are defeated or feel cheated by referees.
The most important aspect of our game is management. Many connoisseurs are quick to give credit to Mr. Kwesi Nyantakyi’s administration for making the senior national team-the Black Stars, world-beaters. But, they again put the blame squarely on the doorstep of the same FA for their shambolic manhandling of the local league. From colts soccer to division 3, division 2, division 1 and the premiership, there is no proper organization with its attendant widespread cheating in all forms.
It must however be noted that some of the teams have tried to market their matches in the past. Asante Kotoko, a couple of years ago invited musicians and comedians to entertain the spectators before the start of matches. The likes of Lord Kenya, Prophet Seth Frimpong, Amakye Dede, Pat Thomas and others dished out their genre of music to the expectant crowd. This strategy worked for a while but later hit a snag. Now the porcupine warriors have devised another strategy where beautiful ladies in skimpy dresses are made to adorn the stadium, it however remains to be seen if this will work out.
It’s surely a sad spectacle if any of our local teams pull out of African competitions obviously due to the inadequacy of funds, whilst they have dyed-in-the-wool supporters who can contribute financially by attending their matches. These same supporters would rather pay to watch other matches being beamed live on Tv. A more concerted effort must therefore be geared towards getting people to fill the stadia during matches, to raise funds for the teams who most of the times are in distress.
I believe strongly that if all stakeholders play their part very well in this crusade, the enthusiasm will pick up again. For example, the FA must be seen to be proactive and spot on, the clubs must get foreign players to augment their squad and the media (Print and Electronic) must also encourage people through their medium to attend matches. If all these is done, Ghana Football will surely be the winner because, there will be quality football, the spectators will be satisfied and the clubs will be rewarded financially.
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