Veteran administrator vindicates Acheampong, Amoako
An astute football administrator says there is no justification for the removal of the former Ashanti Gold and Asante Kotoko CEOs, Fred Acheampong and George Amoako, from the Executive Council (ExCo) of the Ghana Football Association (GFA) since it is contrary to the FA’s statutes.
According to him, there was no provision in the GFA statutes that guaranteed a person’s removal on the basis of his non-alignment to a club.
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Reacting to calls for the removal of the two officials in an interview with the Daily Graphic yesterday, he cited some instances in the past where Randy Abbey and Fred Crentsil who represented Hearts of Oak still maintained their positions on the Executive Committee even when they had issues with their club.
He advised those behind that vicious campaign to tread cautiously since that might go contrary to the rules of the FA and set a bad precedent for Ghana football.
He rather tasked the GFA to come out with clear guidelines as to what could be done in the event that a similar issue happened in future and not leave the rules to the mere interpretation of anybody.
“It’s more of a moral than a practical issue and it’s not the first time it has happened. The FA must be explicit on this and come out with clear guidelines so that when it happens again in future, they will know what to do, otherwise they must go with the precedents,” he stated.
Per Article 37(8) of the GFA Statutes, ExCo membership can be declared vacant when there is “death or resignation or incapability of discharging functions by reason of infirmity of mind or body certified by a medical doctor”.
At FIFA, instances can be cited of Tunisia’s Tarek Bouchamaoui without any linkage to any club but maintains his position in the council; so are Kalusha Bwalya of Zambia and Mr Amadou Diakite of Mali who left their positions in their respective FAs but continue to serve in CAF’s ExCo.
Acheampong and Amoako, who were elected onto the 12-member council on October 24 last year on the ticket of their respective clubs, have come under intense pressure since parting ways with their clubs recently.
The critics maintained that the duo did not have the locus to represent any constituency, let alone qualify to be members of the highest decision-making body of the association, and as a result they must be shown the exit door.
Yesterday, media reports indicated that some Premier League clubs were considering their removal from the council because they did not have an affiliation with any club.