The Ghana Football Association (GFA) Statutes Review Committee has proposed an extension of the tenure of the President from two to three terms, JoySports can report.
The report which was submitted to the Executive Council (ExCo) is also suggesting that the GFA Congress should consider two vice presidents of which one would be a woman, while the number of members of the Executive Council should be increased from 12 to 23.
Premier League delegates will maintain its five members on the ExCo, Division One representatives shall increase from three to five, women’s premier league clubs shall have two members, but one be a woman while the other could be a man or woman depending on who is voted by the clubs and the Regional Football Associations shall have 10.
Sources with knowledge of the reasoning behind the proposals say the current statutes put together by the now-defunct Normalisation Committee in 2019 is below the standard of FIFA, CAF, and other sister federations worldwide.
The 2019 Statutes developed by Dr Kofi Amoah, Naa Odofoley Nortey, Lucy Quist, and Sammy Kuffour who replaced Dua Adonten, per article 37(4) stated that;
“No person shall serve as President for more than two terms of office, whether consecutive or not. Any other member of the Executive Council, including the Vice President, may serve for no more than three terms of office, whether consecutive or not. Any partial term beyond twenty-four (24) months shall count as a full term. Previous terms served as a vice president or as a member of the Executive Council shall not be considered in determining the term limits of a President.”
This provision in the opinion of the Committee made up of ExCo Members, Randy Abbey and Frederick Acheampong, Lawyer of the football governing body, Naa Odofoley Nortey, CEO of Great Olympics, Oluboi Commodore, and Eric Oppong Yeboah of Pacific Heroes is ‘flawed’ since the president is also considered an ExCo member.
One of the arguments is that FIFA and CAF regulations give presidents an opportunity to be in power for three terms hence the GFA statutes should be reviewed to be in tandem with their mother bodies.
The GFA ExCo is engaging members on the proposed statutes and will submit them to FIFA for approval before they are submitted to Congress for confirmation.
It is unclear when the proposals will be submitted to FIFA and subsequently laid before members at Congress, but the FA has already engaged women’s league clubs, PFAG, and Division One League Clubs. They are expected to meet Premier League clubs early next week as they continue with their consultations.
The football governing body will hold its ordinary session of Congress on July 6, 2023, but it is not definite if these proposals would be part of the agenda for consideration and adoption.