Dr Kofi Amoah
Premier League Clubs (PLCs) in the country are demanding an unqualified apology from the Normalisation Committee (NC) after the conduct was cited as the main reason for the cancellation of the proposed Special Competition which was scheduled to start this weekend across the country.
Furthermore, the clubs are also demanding a retraction of the letter which among other things labeled them as greedy and selfish.
On Monday, the Normalisation Committee in a strongly worded letter called off its proposed Special Competition for the clubs and in the process accused the PLCs of sabotaging the process, an assertion the clubs have vehemently denied.
In a press release signed by all 16 clubs on Tuesday evening, the clubs noted that the Normalisation Committee was only using the PLCs as an excuse for their obvious unpreparedness to start the competition.
“The PLCs have never been against the Normalisation Committee or the normalisation of football in the country. On the contrary the PLCs have shared various ideas with them on topics such as player welfare, club licensing and capacity building by clubs, all in a bid to help them execute their mandate rightfully.”
However, the non-transparency on the part of the Committee with respect to the budget for the competition, despite several official promptings smacks of their unpreparedness to move on with their own programme, the release stated.
“We want to put on record that the fact that all interactions between the clubs and the Committee have been at the instance of the clubs while they the organisers have resorted to unorthodox means of communicating through the press speaks volumes of our unweaving preparedness to honour the competition.”
The release stated that the PLCs have demonstrated their commitment to participating in the competition through the recall of their players to camp, registration and submission of squad lists to the Committee and the submission of squad lists undoubtedly is further evidence of their commitment to participating in the competition.
Again the release revealed that, members agreed under very difficult circumstances to move from their traditional grounds to neutral venues as directed by the organisers, although till date the Committee was yet to inform the National Sports Authority (NSA) about the intended usage of the venues under their control for the competition, and further imposed ticket prices without any consultation whatsoever with relevant stakeholders.
In addition to all these, the Committee sent fixtures without dates, and also unsigned regulations, to clubs participating in the competition for their signatures.
The original structure of the competition fashioned by the Committee, the release noted, was not in the best interest of stakeholders, including clubs in the Division One League and it took the intervention of the Minister of Youth and Sports, Mr Isaac Asiamah, for the organisers to see reason and to accept the better alternative structure proposed by the PLCs.
While using the opportunity to underscore the fact that they remain committed to participating in the competition, and are opened for further deliberations for the betterment of Ghana football, the Clubs also called on the Normalisation Committee to stop hiding behind the clubs all in a bid not to expose their own shortcomings with respect to the organisation of this competition.
BY TIMES SPORTS REPORTER
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