Kabral Blay-Amihere: We’re Not Ready To Restart League

A former board member of Kumasi Asante Kotoko, Mr Kabral Blay-Amihere, says the country is not ready for the resumption of the Ghana Premier League (GPL) since protocols of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic were not being met.

He, therefore, advised the Ghana Football Association (GFA) to consider the complex issues regarding the pandemic before taking a firm decision to either truncate or continue with the league.

The FA will take a decision on the suspended football season on Tuesday, June 30. Before that, the GFA, through its medical committee, had met with the government’s COVID-19 team and presented a proposal on how football could return possibly in an empty stadium and in a manner that was safe for all participants.

Mr Blay-Amihere, in an interview with Asempa FM yesterday, said abiding by all protocols and regular COVID-19 testing should be considered first before the GFA takes that crucial decision to avoid the spread of the pandemic.

“Those countries who have started football are obeying the COVID-19 protocols. If the country (Ghana) wants to start the league, they should learn to implement the proper measures before starting the league.

“There is no seriousness on protocol measures put in place before we start the pending league and I think we are not ready to continue it,” he stressed.

He further revealed that when football was active, supporters were not going to the stadium and now that people are demanding for the league to continue behind close doors, it would be difficult for clubs to finance their expenses.

“South Africa is said to continue their league; they have put in all the protocols to ensure the safety of players. They have an element of sponsorship to ease their financial burden but we don’t have such.

“If you say King Faisal should continue the league, it will be a tough demand on their financial status so Ghana’s issue is a very hard task,” the former Envoy and National Media Commission chairman explained.

“Before football revived in Europe, there was a weekly testing of players and officials. Before they started, everyone knew their status but what has the country done so far with regard to this?

“The safety of the players is overlooked which will be a disaster if we continue it,” he added.

On March 15, the GFA announced the suspension of all competitions in line with a directive by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to put on hold all social gatherings and sporting events in the light of the COVID-19 pandemic.