On this day: The first ever professional Premier League game was played in Ghana

The first professional league in Ghana kicked off on this day 20 years ago.

On Sunday 19^th December, 1993, the Ghana Premier League for the very first time was played where matches were played in six centers across the country.

How professional football in Ghana began

The idea for a professional league in Ghana was first raised by the then Minister of Youth and Sports, E.T Mensah on Wednesday 8th, September, 1993 at the Secaps Hotel in Accra. At a dinner in honour of the national Under 17 team, the Black Starlets for emerging runner-up in the FIFA U17 World Cup in Japan. The Minister lamented on the amateurish way of the organization of football clubs, saying there was the need for clubs to be turned into corporate entities to ensure a more professional way of running them.

The then Ghana FA boss, Nana Brew Butler who had the idea of clubs going commercial complimented the effort of the Minister of Sports, since both parties had similar ideas. The Minister saying the clubs should go professional and the GFA boss wanting clubs to go commercial.

The Winneba declaration

On Thursday 16^th September, 1993, the Ministry of Youth and Sports in conjunction with the National Sports Council (NSC), the Ghana Football Association (GFA) organized a three (3) day seminar at the National Sports College, Winneba to expand the idea of having a professional league.

The Youth and Sports Minister in his opening address urged Ghanaian clubs to go professional.  He noted that registering clubs as corporate entities will solve several problems for them and ensure a more professional way of dealing with soccer. The function was chaired by Mr. Zac Bentum, a former Ghana Football Association (GFA) boss. Among the topics treated were the incorporation of football clubs under the companies’ code, floating of shares for the clubs, Mr. Ray Whelan, Managing Director of Bobby Charlton enterprise spoke on professionalism, with experience from U.K and Japan, etc

The declaration indicated among other things that clubs shall be incorporated under the 1963 Act (179), with effect from the 1993/94 season. It also said that with effect from the 1993/94 season all first division clubs shall enter into a contractual agreement with their players, to bring them to a professional status. Furthermore it urged first division clubs to register not less than 16 non-amateurish players for the 1993/94 season.

The formation of the Professional/Premier League Board (PLB)

A seven member Professional League Board (PLB), Chaired by Zac Bentum, with Mr. E. Lamptey as vice cum treasurer was formed by the Ministry of Youth and Sports in consultation with the GFA headed by Mr. Nana Sam Brew-Butler. The other members were Mr. W.K Agra (Former National Sports Authority Chief Executive), Mr. Kofi Harlley, Registrar- General’s Department, Mr. Joe Aggrey, President of SWAG, Mr. Kojo Quarshie and Major Yaw Larsen both of the league Clubs Association

Seed money

As an encouragement and capacity building gesture, the Ministry paid 3m old cedis (now GHC 300) to each premier league club to reduce the burden on them in their maiden professional league season.

Match day 1 of Ghana’s first-ever professional league.

 Sun Dec 19, 1993

Accra Hearts of Oak Â  2-0 Accra Great Olympics

Prampram Mighty Royals Â  0-2 Neoplan Star

Tema Ghapoha 1-2 Afienya United

Okwahu United 2-1 Dawu Youngsters

Obuasi Goldfields SC Â  2-0 Cape Coast Ebusua Dwarfs

Kumasi Asante Kotoko  vs  Real Tamale United (RTU)

N/B:  Kotoko couldn’t turn up because they failed to raise a team due to reports that their players were still struggling with management over unpaid allowances in their unsuccessful African Champions Cup final against Zamalek of Egypt. RTU were declared technical winners and Kotoko started on a negative points building.

First goal in the premier league: Scored on the 15^th minute.

Sun Dec 19, 1993

Mighty Royals Â  0-2 Neoplan Star

Roland Kwakye for Neoplan Star Â 

Ghapoha 1-2 Afienya

Sam Yeboah for Ghapoha

N/B: Although there should be some seconds to separate, the two quick goals scored on the first day of the premier league, the reports of the match officials didn’t capture them.

Interviews  with some of the characters that have contributed to the growth of the Ghana premier league

 

Interview with Hon. Enoch Teye Mensah (The father of professional league in Ghana)

Hon. Enoch Teye Mensah, M.P for Ningo Prampram, is the longest serving Sports Minister in Ghana (1993 to 2001). I call him the father of professional league in Ghana because he propounded the idea for Ghana league to go professional.

Freeman: Why did you see the need for Ghana league to go professional?

Hon. E.T. Mensah: After travelling to other parts of the world and seeing their football grow because of the professional ways of organizing their leagues, I tasked myself to enable Ghana follow suit.

Also, during the pre-professional era there was a lot of confusion, during player registration. That was the time clubs employed the services of “Macho men”, to kidnap players and register them by false, because there wasn’t any contractual agreements, then. I saw the need for clubs to go professional so that they could sign contract with their players to avoid some of these occurrences. I then urged them to be registered as corporate entities under the company code.

Freeman: How were you able to sell this idea to the clubs?

Hon. E.T. Mensah: I went to all the regions in Ghana to meet club owners and by so doing a greater number of them bought into my vision for Ghana league to go professional.

Freeman: What were some of the obstacles, you faced in ensuring that Ghana league goes professional?

Hon. E.T. Mensah: Some of the club owners during the amateur era didn’t see the need for clubs to be corporate entities and sign contract with their players, but with the help of the Organization of Ghana League Clubs Association (OGLCA) now GHALCA, who invited me as guest of honour in their seminars, we were able to curb that problem.

Also few journalists were hired by some stakeholders in our football to frustrate our effort to go professional. For example even on the day of the Wineba declaration some journalist asked some of our principal speakers for the day, that don’t they think Ghana is not ripened for a professional league. The answer they gave was that Ghana is more than matured for a professional league, since we are the face of African football.

Freeman: Your final words to all football loving fans?

Hon. E.T. Mensah: I am happy that Ghana football has come this far. We should patronize our league to let us reach greater heights.

 

An interview with Nana Sam Brew Butler, the first GFA Chairman under the Professional league Era

Freeman: What motivated you to support the idea of Ghana football going professional?

Nana Butler: I started the fight for clubs to go commercial, during my tenure as the Chairman of the Organization of Ghana League Clubs Association (OGLCA) now GHALCA.  So when I became the GFA Chairman, I decided to implement this ambition of mine and coming across a minister of Sports in the person of Hon. E.T. Mensah, who believed in the need for Ghana league to go professional, the road became clear for us to incorporate these two ideologies since they go hand in hand. I believe in the need for clubs to go commercial, in order to reduce cost and maximize revenue, because of my education in Business Studies and Management Science in the U.K.

Also there were a lot of chaos during the registration of players in the pre-professional era hence, bringing the game into disrepute. For instance players were kidnapped and camped in other to sign for clubs and there was the need to bring sanity into the manner in which registration of players was done

Freeman: What are some of the lows and highs of the Ghana premier league?

Nana Butler: I believe we have made tremendous strides, but I don’t think we’ve got there. In areas such as T.V coverage to market the league to the rest of the world, the organizers have done well with the coming in of SuperSport, but sponsorships are not enough to sustain the clubs, especially they need enough money to buy quality players in the transfer market.

An interview with Mr. Welbeck Abra-Appiah, the chairman of the Premier League Board (PLB)  (2005- the longest serving PLB Chairman)

Freeman-What are some of the problems that have hindered the growth of the premier league over the past years?

Mr. Abra-Appiah: Infrastructures in most of the league centres such as inner perimeters stadia, pitches, etc are not in good shape to support a successful professional league.

Also most of the clubs do not comply with the rules and regulations as stipulated in the status of the GFA, for instance deadlines on registration among many other things.

In addition to the above is lack of patronage of matches at the various league centres due to massive patronage of European football in recent times. This takes away some shine out of the league since spectators are key characters in football.

Furthermore, inadequate sponsorships for our league make clubs to struggle financially especially some solely depend on sponsorship money to keep them going.

Freeman:  What have been some of the improvements in the premier league over the past years?

Mr. Abra-Appiah: Officiating has vastly improved. Complaints from clubs are gradually reducing and in the near future I think our match officials can do better, but as a human institution mistakes are bound to happen.

Also television coverage in the league has improved, more especially with the coming in of SuperSport.

Freeman: Has the PLB slated down any activities to climax the 20^th premier league season

Mr. Abra-Appiah : Plans have been made to celebrate the 20^th  season anniversary of the Ghana premier league  in the second round of the 2013/14 season.

I dedicate this piece of work on the 20^th year of Ghana premier league to Mr. Zac Bentum of blessed memories, the first PLB Chairman and former GFA Chairman. May his soul rest in perfect piece

By Thomas Freeman Yeboah, Metro fm and member of the GFA Research and Information Management Committee.