‘Pay more attention to grassroots football’ – Stephen Appiah tells gov’t

Appiah was speaking in Elmina at the start of the national finals of the Milo U13 Champions League tournament.

The former Juventus midfielder believes that the government needs to recognize the value of Ghanaian footballers and do a lot to groom them for the nation’s benefit.

“We have to do our best to revive grassroots football in Ghana. I played in the U-10, U-12 and U-14 tournaments and leagues and the likes of Sulley Muntari and Michael Essien went through the same process.

All the big names we see today came from the grassroots. But today, when I go to the places where we used to play, I see that buildings have been put up on the pitches.”

Appiah went to on state that footballers were a good source of money for the state and it was important for the government to recognise this fact.

“We have not noticed how much revenue our players bring into the country. I read in the newspapers that Ghana borrows amounts such as 5 million dollars but Asamoah Gyan brings 12 million dollars.

Andre Ayew, Kwadwo Asamoah and all these players can bring some good money into the country.”

Appiah is the Ambassador for the 2017 Milo U13 Champions League final tournament which will end on June 24.

He told reporters that the event was very important and he commended Nestle, the organisers of the tournament for the initiative.

The tournament winners will get GHS 15,000 while the second and third-placed teams will receive GHS 10,000 and GHS 5,000.

There will also be awards for the Best Player, Top Scorer, Best Goalkeeper and one for Fair Play.

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By: Nathan Quao/citifmonline.com/Ghana