The President of the Ghana Football Association (GFA), Kurt Edwin Simeon-Okraku, has underscored the need for patience and right levels of investment for the GFA’s flagship youth development strategy.
The President made the remark when he watched Tuesday’s Group A matches of the ongoing KGL Foundation Inter-Regional U17 Colts Championship, at the Ghanaman Soccer Centre of Excellence at Prampram.
President Simeon-Okraku was visibly impressed with the quality of talents on display at the talent identification Championship as the GFA continues to lay strong foundations for Ghana’s football future.
He also hailed the performance of the Catch Them Young Referees, who are officiating in the Colts Championship.
“I’m very impressed with the quality of the intangible assets which are the players. I have been super impressed with officiating right from the start up till now and it can only get better; this, for me, is truly special. I think that everybody who has been part of this story will be proud of where we are at the moment, investing in the youth, both in refereeing and in the development of football players.” President Simeon-Okraku said
The GFA has been implementing its youth development strategy with funding from KGL Foundation over the last four years, culminating in the ongoing talent identification Championship. With support from FIFA, the GFA also organised the recently held Elite U15 Girls Championship which concluded on July 24, 2024, at the GFA’s Technical Centre at Prampram.
“What we are going through today is part of our strategy for the development of football. We saw the U-15 girls, which is part of the Women’s Football Strategy which we launched in 2022, and this is also part of the talent development scheme that we are currently embarking on with support from FIFA and, of course, with KGL.”, Simeon-Okraku indicated.
“I think that this is the future of our sport. If we want to produce the Anas Thunder’s and Mohammed Polo’s of yesteryear, this is the way to go and I’ve always said that if we are patient and make the right levels of investment, Ghana football will definitely soar again.”
The President also touched on the hugely improved infrastructure and environment at the GFA’s Technical centre, the Ghanaman Soccer Centre of excellence at Prampram.
“Pampram now looks like a home to everybody. Our young girls and boys have spent days sleeping here and it is a changed story. I think that everybody who is seeing what we have done here will be proud of the hard work put in by the leadership of the FA, and by the leadership of the management of the facility over here. I’m so touched and very proud.”
The talent identification Championship, which is in its fourth year, has served as the platform for unearthing talents for the next generation of football stars who will largely form the nucleus of the various youth national teams.