Ghana’s Minister for Sports and Recreation has called for a fundamental shift in the country’s football development model, urging clubs to move beyond relying on player sales and focus on building sustainable institutions.
Speaking at the 32nd Ordinary Session of Congress of the Ghana Football Association, the minister said long-term success would require deliberate investment in club infrastructure, academies, brands, fan bases, commercial partnerships and digital platforms.
“Magic doesn’t exist in football. You have to work your way through,” he said, challenging stakeholders to consider whether they were building teams or institutions.
The minister acknowledged that player exports remain an important part of Ghana’s football economy but said transfers should form part of a broader development cycle.
“Selling players is not a problem,” he said. “Ghana should develop and export talent. But the process should be to identify, develop, train, market, increase value, transfer intelligently, and reinvest.”
He also called for stronger storytelling and marketing around domestic players, arguing that building their profiles and connecting them with supporters could increase both their value and the appeal of the local league.
The minister pointed to the atmosphere surrounding the World Cup as evidence of football’s wider economic potential and challenged stakeholders to recreate that level of engagement more consistently.
“Imagine if we can create a quarter of that atmosphere every minute—how the economy will be stimulated,” he said.
He further urged government, the Ghana Football Association and corporate partners to work together to strengthen broadcasting, improve prize money and provide targeted support for clubs.
“If there is no player to sell, the other units must be strong enough to generate revenue,” he said, warning that clubs would remain financially fragile if player transfers were their primary source of income.
The minister’s message was clear: Ghana’s football future must be built around stronger institutions, smarter talent development and diversified revenue streams rather than a dependence on the next player sale.
