Brew-Butler kicks against 18-club league
The President and Board Chairman of Cape Coast Ebusua Dwarfs, Nana Sam Brew-Butler, has kicked against any idea of a possible 18-club Premier League being played in a bid to end the feud between the Ghana Football Association (GFA) and Accra Great Olympics.
According to Mr Brew-Butler, the rules and regulations stipulating the number of clubs to play in the Ghana Premier League were very clear and, therefore, cautioned against the temptation to bend the rules to suit some people as that could encourage mediocrity in the game.
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He has, thus, urged club owners to rally together to protect the sanctity of the league.
Speaking to the Graphic Sports on the current happenings in Ghana football, the former GFA Chairman said it was important for club owners to protect their interest because “all clubs must gain entry into the Premier League based on merit and not through the back door.”
“I insist that the right things must be done and the GFA should respect its rules and regulations irrespective of the club at the receiving end. When the FA attempts to favour any club then that would mean they are bending the rules,” the experienced football administrator pointed out. He stressed that: “People involved in football must have principles and those who would not want to go by those principles must be kicked out.
"He was worried about the late start of the league which he described as ‘unproductive and a financial burden on the clubs.”
“Owners of clubs must come out and speak for a solution devoid of compromises. The issues must be dealt with without cutting corners or else it will come back to haunt us,” he emphasised, saying parochial interests cannot be served because that would not be the best.
Citing the raid at the FIFA’s head office in Switzerland to support the argument that government cannot interfere in the affairs of the FA, Nana Brew-Butler, who was GFA chairman between 1993 and 1997, stated that “I do not subscribe to those saying there must not be government interference rather there must be a limit to which government can intervene”.
That, he said, cannot be called interference but a move meant to salvage the image of Ghana football and called on all stakeholders in football to be proactive in helping to save the game.
On what could be the way forward for clubs as the GFA and Accra Great Olympics battle in court, the Dwarfs’ bankroller proposed clubs coming together to play their own competition until a solution to the current crisis was found.
“Nothing stops like-minded clubs from coming together to introduce and play their own competition, while the GFA dealt with the issue that is holding the league up.”
