Veteran sports commentator, Joe Lartey Snr, has advised the leadership of the Ghana Football Association (GFA) to eschew loathing in the governance of football.
Speaking in a yet-to-be-televised Prime Takeinterview with Muftawu Nabila Abdulai, the venerable Lartey, noted that politics and desire for money have negatively impacted the growth of Ghana’s football.
“They should clean their heads,” the former GBC journalist said when quizzed what advice he would offer to the leadership of Ghana football.
“Sooner than later, I intend to visit the president of Ghana football, Kurt Okraku. I want to have a little chat with him and share the little experience that I have with him. If he takes, fine, if he doesn’t, he is in charge,” he added.
Between 1963 and 1982, Ghana won four AFCON titles. Since then, the senior national team has failed to win an AFCON trophy. Mr Lartey attributed the country’s failure to politics, an element he described as divisive, adding that it ‘blinds efficiency.’
“The nose diving of Ghana football… you see, in Ghana, unfortunately, we are injecting too much politics into everything we do,” he noted.
He continued, “It is not just politics, but party politics. It is a divisive element – it creates bitterness, it creates separation, and it blinds efficiency.
“They [the leadership of the FA] should remove prejudice, they should remove hatred, they should remove unnecessary competition; anything negative should be out of their heads.”
The 96-year-old also advised Kurt Okraku and his team to desist from focusing on making money at the FA, but rather channel their efforts into making the country’s most loved sport great again.
He described money as a slippery ground, which leads to trouble.
“Let them think about football and Ghana and let them say to themselves that we are here to make Ghana great in football, and it will happen. Let them develop positive thinking all the time. They should completely banish all the things that have destroyed many sectors in Ghana – politics.
“Football has become political because people are interested in making money out of it. Money leads to trouble,” he noted.
Prime Take airs on JoyNews every Friday at 7:10 am, Saturday at 7:30 pm, with a repeat on Sunday at 9:00 pm. This week’s episode features the revered commentator.