A MESSAGE FROM; KURT EDWIN SIMEON-OKRAKU, PRESIDENT, GHANA FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION.
With all the challenges we inherited after the Normalisation Committee
handed over to us, the rejuvenation of all facets of the game was paramount.
Hitherto, even though women’s football had shown immense promise and made admirable strides, it was yet to attract the needed patronage and level of resources required to sustain continuous growth.
We needed to transcend the perennial dominance of the men’s game if we were to achieve our aim of taking women’s football to another level.
From then, I must say that investment and energy so far channelled into
the development of Women’s football in Ghana continues to yield the right results. We are encouraged by the fact that critical interest in the
game from all stakeholders continues to grow as we work to streamline
structures and provide more resources for both the local game and the national teams.
Fast forward to 2023, women’s game has seen the addition of
organisational and developmental structures that are bearing fruits, with
stable local leagues, a thriving senior national women’s team, the Black
Queens, juvenile programmes that continue to feed the junior national
teams, training programmes for coaches, increased patronage, and
sponsorship.
From the day my administration took over the mantle of the Ghana Football Association, I was under no illusion that one of our key tasks was, and still is, to build on the gains made in the
development of the women’s game in Ghana over the preceding two decades.
Our Women’s Football Strategy, 2023 – 2026, is designed to modernise our
local game and ensure the institution of qualitative talent discovery and
transition programmes to feed our various national teams.
Our intent is evident in the establishment of the Women’s Football
Development portfolio under the Technical Directorate, which has enabled the GFA to bring focus to our set targets. Reference in point is the recent Women’s Football Strategy Workshop held in Accra, with critical stakeholders, as part of the policy development process for a practical framework for the strategic advancement of Women’s football in Ghana.
As the GFA President, while the buck stops at my door, I cannot claim sole credit for the strides made by the women’s game to date. Due homage must be paid to my executives, my predecessors on whose shoulders and dreams we now stand, poised to take our women’s game to another level.
We must also commend successive governments who have seen the wisdom in engaging the GFA as partners in developing the women’s game as part of governments’ overriding responsibility towards creating yet another avenue for more the girl child to aspire, be mentored, encouraged and inspired to realize their dreams.
It is also important to note and acknowledge the support and cooperation of CAF and FIFA in our efforts thus far. I want to take this opportunity to assure them of the Ghana Football Association’s continued commitment to
a more significant level of investment in women’s football in Ghana, both from our resources and our stakeholders. At the same time, we strive to ensure that the brand is made even more attractive to attract sustainable corporate sponsorship levels.
Thank You.
