Kwesi Nyantakyi to resign as GFA boss
Members of the Executive Committee of the Ghana Football Association are currently locked in a meeting to determine the status of the association following an announcement by the Ghanaian government that it intends to initiate processes to dissolve the body.
The meeting in Accra will likely see Nyantakyi, the subject of an anti-corruption probe by the Ghana Police Service instigated by an investigation carried out by an undercover journalist resign his role as GFA President.
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According to sources, Nyantakyi's exit is expected to ease tension and a potential standoff with the government.
Nyantakyi has also already been referred to as the "former" GFA President by the Minister of Youth and Sports Isaac Kwame Asiamah.
The investigation carried out by journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas on corruption in Ghana football captured Nyantakyi and some GFA Executive Committee members including Nii Komiete Doku and Linear Addy in a secret video recording allegedly accepting bribes.
Subsequently, Nyantakyi, the implicated Executive Committee members and over 100 referees and officials of the GFA have come under intense pressure of the Ghanaian public to quit their roles.
Following the revelation, the government suspended all Ghana Football Association (GFA)-sanctioned activities and has begun steps to dissolve the association.
A statement signed by the Minister of Information, Dr Mustapha Abdul Hamid, and issued in Accra yesterday said “the government is shocked and outraged at the content of a recently aired video documentary which captures investigations conducted into football administration.
It said the government would communicate its decisions to the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and the Federation of International Football Associations (FIFA) and engage with them on those developments to chart a way forward for Ghana football.
It further said the government would see to it that the necessary reforms were urgently undertaken to sanitise football administration in the country.
A former Ghana football chief, Dr Nyaho Nyaho-Tamakloe, has demanded a "total house cleansing exercise" at the GFA "to purge the system of corrupt elements".
He said the exercise should include a comprehensive review of the constitution of the GFA to introduce proper checks and balances within the set-up.
For a starter, he has called on "the genuine ones within the football set-up to initiate the appropriate procedures according to the GFA's constitution to sweep aside the corrupt gang who have brought the local game into disrepute".
'If those who have been shamed by the exposé are refusing to bow out to save some honour, the rest who could lift their heads up must show them the way out if Ghana football," he told Graphic Sports in an interview.
"When there is too much power in the hands of one person there are always chances that those powers would be abused. Unfortunately, the current constitution of the GFA has given the president too much powers to the extent that he could sack his vice. Who then could actually challenge him when he errs? This should be checked immediately," he said.