Saddick Adams, a convener of the ‘Save Ghana Football’ demonstration has set the record straight on the purpose of the demonstration after former Black Stars defender, John Painstil questioned the essence of the protest on UTV’s United Showbiz on Saturday, February 17, 2024.
Paintsil claimed that the protest seemed focused on the Black Stars and GFA but not the entirety of Ghana football.
He asserted that the GFA cannot be blamed for the woes of Ghana football as club owners have failed to adopt measures that will develop the game.
“Yeah, I saw it, but I didn’t understand. Is it about Ghana football or the national team? Because there are two things, the national team is part of Ghana football so when you say we want to build our football as a nation, it starts from the clubs. It doesn’t start from the FA,” he said on UTV hosted by MzGee.
“If you want to build football, it starts from the clubs. Colts, Third Division, Second Division, First Division and the Premier. If you look at the people who run football clubs in Ghana, if the GFA decide to stick to certain things, most of them wouldn’t have football clubs to run.”
He further sought clarity on whether the demonstration was against the Black Stars or Ghana football, adding that the Black Stars are not doing badly either for a team that is going through rebuilding.
“They said it was Ghana football, but they did it after the Cup of Nations. So I want to know that is it Ghana football or Black Stars.”
“That is what I don’t understand. I need to know their point. If we are talking about Ghana football, then we are not talking about the national team. Even if we are talking about the Black Stars, they qualified for the World Cup. We have to accept that we are still building.”
Saddick Adams, who contributed to the show via phone, explained that the motive of the demonstration was to serve the interest of club owners like John Paintsil.
He also entreated the former Fulham full-back to read their 15-point petition to GFA and the Sports Ministry for better understanding.
“We wrote 15 points petition. We wrote it because of people like him. One of the key reasons for our demonstration is a conflict of interest. The people who have risen to Executive Council or vice president or president, whenever there are call-ups, you’d see majority of their players whether they are good or not.”
“The demonstration is not about us journalists, but you those of you who are into football. We have 15 points in our petition which is accessible, John can read and know our motive.”
He also mentioned that the Black Stars management committee members earning $100,000 for their roles in the World Cup was a reason for the demonstration.
“FIFA says the profit of football is for the sustainability of the game. When we went for the World Cup, six members who led the team said they deserved $100,000 each for following the team for 12 days. They said it was a sacrificial job. Meanwhile, League clubs like Medeama, Hearts of Oak, and Kotoko will crisscross Ghana for 34 weeks only to receive $23,000. So John is telling the club owners to invest, they should go for loans and earn $23,000 in the end?
The ‘Save Ghana Football’ demonstration came off peacefully on February 14, 2024, with many Ghanaians showing up and walking through the streets of Accra with their placards to register their displeasure at the FA and government.
Source: ghanaweb.com
