By Anthony Adongo Apubeo
Winkogo (U/E), June 25, GNA – The Ghana Football Association (GFA) has announced plans to establish football academies as part of its strategy to promote grassroots football and unearth talents.
Mr Kurt Edwin Simeon Okraku, the President of the GFA, who announced this, said the football administration planned to develop the football infrastructure base to offer opportunities and nurture young talents.
To this end, he said, the GFA would partner with some second-cycle schools in the Northern, Middle and Southern belts to unearth young football talents at the Junior High School levels, preparing to transition into the second-cycle schools.
“I am also very happy to use this platform to announce that the Upper East Region will be the first and foremost beneficiary of what will be the GFA football academy.
“The GFA in conjunction with the Bolgatanga Senior High School (Big Boss) will announce a partnership and the establishment of the first ever Ghana Football Association Senior High School project called GFA football academy.
“The FA will scout for talents in the JHS system specifically JHS three (boys and girls) and the topmost talents in Northern Ghana will be brought to Big Boss so that they will study and learn football. We will do the same in the middle belt specifically in the Ashanti Region and will do the third one in the Greater Accra Region, representing the Southern zone”.
The GFA President made this disclosure at the commissioning of the first phase and sod-cutting ceremony of the second phase of Winkogo Technical Centre being funded by the FIFA Forward 1.0 programme.
Mr Okraku explained that the move to establish the academies was to provide a platform for students who had football talents to develop their potential while pursuing their studies.
“It is the intention of the GFA to make a big statement and a proud statement that it is possible for our kids to have normal education and to also pursue a career in football, so we will combine football and education,” he added.
The first phase consists of FIFA standard artificial football Astroturf, floodlights connected to the national grid, two technical benches, two movable goalposts, a standby generator to power lights, an inner perimeter, fencing wall around the entire parcel of land.
The second phase of the project would comprise a modern office for the Upper East Regional Football Association, changing rooms for teams and officials, and spectator stands among others.
The project would be able to host all matches, from grassroots football to the Premier League level.
The Upper East Region has one division-one team, 24-second division clubs, 21 third-division clubs, seven women division-one clubs and 84 juvenile clubs.
Unlike before, the region did not have a single standard pitch and teams which qualified for division one and the Premier League had to always travel to Tamale to play their home matches.
Mr Salifu Shaibu Zida, the Upper East Regional Chairman of the GFA, noted that the project was a big relief to the football industry in the region.
GNA