DOL sponsors warn against violence
The sponsor of the Division One League, GN Bank, has urged the Ghana Football Association (GFA) to organise a stakeholders meeting to take stock of the challenges that affected the league and devise means to make it more competitive, attractive and sustainable.
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The General Manager, Finance and Administration of the bank, Issah Adams, who made the call at the maiden Division One League (DOL) Awards organised by GN Bank last Saturday at the Coconut Grove Regency Hotel in Accra, said the meeting should take place prior to the commencement of the new league season.
Describing the three-year sponsorship of the league as a marriage between the “people’s league and the people’s bank’, he said notwithstanding some successes chalked in the first year, it was full of challenges, hence the need for them to meet the FA as soon as possible to address such challenges.
“The sponsorship package has been mutually beneficial, but there is more room for improvement, hence the need for us to take stock of the sponsorship to pave way to chart a new course.
“We are happy for sponsoring the Division One League and also organising this historic awards to recognise excellence with the view of motivating the players to strive for the bests”, Issah Adams said.
He mentioned violence at some league centres as one of the challenges that undermined the smooth running of the league, stating that as sponsors, they eschewed all forms of violence.
“As the main sponsors of the league, we have to make it clear that we are not happy to associate with any form of violence at league centres,so the FA needs to sanction such centres to ensure the safety of vising players and officials”, he declared.
According to Issah Adams, failure to deal drastically with centres associated with violence would send a signal that the FA encouraged such actions, a situation likely to motivate others to administer similar actions against visiting teams.
“We should appreciate the fact that football is governed by rules and regulations, so the tendency for some home teams to allegedly bribe referees and attack visiting teams should stop”, he advised.
For his part, a member of the FA, Kwaku Ayiah, commended GN Bank for its initiatives, saying, the bank’s package made it possible it to run smoothly.
Explaining, he said, prior to that, some Division One clubs withdrew from the league due to financial constraints.
He said the initiative was also motivating to players to offer their best and make them competitive .
Mr Adams, therefore, challenged the media to provide adequate coverage for the league with the view of helping to unearth talents that would enhance the development of football in the country.
