Premier League club executives are suffocating under financial burden of paying the salaries of players and technical team at a time the controversy surrounding the First Capital Plus Premier League is yet to be addressed. The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Kumasi Asante Kotoko, Mr. Samuel Opoku Nti, has lamented.
According to the Kotoko CEO, besides creating intense financial difficulties for Kotoko, the late start of the league had also been affecting the performances of the players due to lack of stiff competitions.
Stopping short of disclosing the cost of running the clubs in terms of players salaries, as well as that of the technical team and other administrative costs, Opoku Nti described the situation as unbearable.
“How can we continue to run a club like Kotoko without generating revenue through gate proceeds? We occasionally play friendly matches, but that is not what the fans want to watch, so they don’t attend in their numbers as they do during competitive matches which are full of tensions . The situation is therefore denying us the needed opportunity to raise revenue to addresss the numerous financial challenges confronting us” he said in an interview with Daily Graphic.
On how the situation had affected the players, he said they no longer enjoy winning bonuses and free meals as they used to do when they either win league matches, or when they are camping. “The players are not comfortable with the existing situation, but they are struggling to cope ”
On the format of the new competition being introduced by the Ghana Football Association, he said he was yet to know the details.He, however, expressed his reservations about how the novelty competition would run smoothly alongside the Premier League and the FA Cup.
“You are aware that we are far behind time, so far as the First Capital Plus Premier League is concerned, so if we start the league now, it is likely to create a stiff timetable for the participating teams , and remember we also have to play the FA Cup as well. So adding another competition to the already choked timetable is likely to create tough times for the teams,” he noted.
