Ghana President charges CAF to check escalating rate of player exodus

Published on: 21 December 2012

By Ameenu Shardow

Ghana's President John Mahama has tasked CAF to devise ways of making the domestic leagues in Africa attractive in order to curb the massive rate of player exodus.

The continent currently loses in excess of 900, 000 football talents predominantly to the European leagues per transfer period.

This figure does not even capture players who are illegally transferred outside the continent by unscrupulous player agents.

The massive rate of player exodus has resulted in the enormous drop in the quality of domestic leagues while making it highly unattractive for fans to patronize games both at the stadia and on television.

Ghana’s President has thus urged the continent’s football governing body to find ways to control this highly worrying trend by formulating policies that will financially enrich the domestic championships across Africa.

“His Excellency the President will like to urge CAF to critically look at ways of making our leagues more attractive so we are able to retain most of our quality players,” Minister for Communications Haruna Iddrisu said on behalf of President Mahama at the annual Glo-CAF awards in Accra on Thursday.

“One way is through sponsorship, the rate at which Africa has been losing players to European leagues is highly worrying and we urgently need to do something about it.

“If the leagues are financially sound, players will earn more wages and they will stay here for the fans to enjoy the football on the continent.”

The final three shortlisted players for the flagship African Footballer of the Year award have all emerged from the trend of player exodus in recent years.

These players are so desperate to leave the continent in pursuit of greener pastures under very harsh and unfavaourable conditions abroad.

A few eventually realize their dreams of playing for top European clubs and earn mega cash on a weekly basis.

Majority of these players however see their prospective fine careers completely messed up with failure to attain success on their travels.

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