The 2018 Ghana football season was affected by the Number 12 of Anas Aremeyaw Anas. GFA President Kwesi Nyantakyi was banned for life from football by FIFA who also appointed a normalisation committee to replace the Ghana Football Association executive committee body.
After years of scandals and corruption rumors , the Anas documentary exposed many key areas of the game. The video proved how selection of players into the various national teams can be corrupted.
It also captured over 70 referees who took bribes and gifts before and after premier league, Division One and Women football league games in a video that rocked the country.
But what does 2019 holds for Ghana football?
Who will be the next GFA President?
Many people have been asking the same question. Will it be Kurt Okraku? George Afriyie? or Nana Yaw Amponsah? Will it be Alhaji Karim Grusah? or he has no chance of becoming GFA President?
What is obvious is Nyantakyi – who was always the clear favorite to win every GFA presidential election – is out of the race.
How successful can the normalisation committee be?
The slow-going Kofi Amoah-led committee announced the introduction of a new competition but this move divided opinion. The mandate of the committee ends in March whereas the competition they have proposed is scheduled to finish a month later.
“The Normalization Committee has created a new competition structure, which will involve all sixteen (16) Premier League and all forty eight (48) Division One League clubs in the country.
The new competition, which will keep all the clubs active during the GFA normalization process, as well as produce Ghana’s representatives for the next CAF Champions League and Confederations Cup respectively, is scheduled to start on January 26, 2019 and end on April 21, 2019
The competition will soon be launched and the full details of the format will be announced.
In a related development, the Normalization Committee is also finalizing arrangements for the resumption of the women’s and regional competitions.
We look forward to an exciting return of domestic football in the country with the support of all our stakeholders. We urge all football fans to embrace the fresh opportunity and patronize the upcoming matches at the various venues.”
Who will be the Executive members of the association?
Many people believe Nyantakyi manipulated the executive committee of the association for many years. He succeeded in getting their support to decide on him as the Black Stars management committee chairman when he was the GFA boss himself and before he was suspended by FIFA, with the majority support of the executive members he removed George Afriyie as his vice.
The conducts of executive figures Eddie Doku, A.A Lawal and Abdulai Alhassan in the Anas video also means integrity test for future executive members of the GFA will be stricter.
Can the Black Stars win the 2019 AFCON?
The tournament is at the moment without a host nation after Cameroon was stripped of the hosting rights because of delay in preparations. However regardless of where the competition will be held, it will be 37 years that Ghana have not won the AFCON if the team fails to lift the trophy.
How will the Anas video impact officiating?
One body that was disgraced the most obviously was Ghana referees. Over 70 of them were caught in damning, corrupt, dishonest circumstances. Corruption itself would never stop but the Anas expose is expected to reduce the level of corrupt match officials in the country. The life time suspensions handed to eight referees and that against J.O Lamptey by FIFA should serve as constant deterrent to the remaining referees.
How far can Asante Kotoko go in the Confederation Cup?
The Porcupine Warriors are the only Ghanaian side in Africa this season having eliminated Kenya’s Kariobangi Sharks in the First round of the competition.
C.K Akonnor and his team awaits their play-off opponents as they target to reach the group stage of the competition which will be a fantastic achievement by the current Kotoko team.
