Of late, the media has been in hot pot for the digestion of issues concerning the Ghana Football Association (GFA) and the Minister of Youth and Sports, Hon. Edwin Nii Lantey Vanderpueye. The sports media across every nook and cranny of the country takes the battle between these two entities as a main topic for discussion on their daily sports programmes.
A multifarious number of articles and stories have been written and said about the going ons between the Minister of Youth and Sports, in particular and the Ghana Football Association (GFA) as an organisation, primarily as to who has Ghana football at heart and wants to serve the varied and cherished football lovers in the country accordingly.
In life, it is always imperative to accept the fact that two cattle cannot drink from the same bucket. They will always and undoubtedly lock horns. Likely, two chiefs cannot rule the same kingdom. There will always be a clash of clans.
Ever since Hon. Nii Lantey Vanderpueye assumed office as the Minister of Youth and Sports, he has come hard on the Ghana Football Association (GFA) on the way the association is running and managing football in the country from the lowest level to the top echelon of football in the country including the national football teams.
As previous Youth and Sports ministers have failed to raise the bar of reaching the height expected of them in sports over the past decade, Hon Nii Lantey Vanderpueye will fail woefully as a former athlete if he does not attain that feet of ensuring the smooth and efficient management of sports in the country, particularly football which has been the passion of the nation all these while.
Coming in as a sports minister and a former athletes, the notion and the prejudice will be to tickle the Ghana Football Association (GFA) by constant attacks and vilifications from the Hon Minister, thinking that will put them in-situ and on their toes not to reign what Ghanaians hold in high esteem.
It is true and obvious that this current youth and sports minister has taken a paradigm shift on how to relate cordially in working hand-in-hand with the Ghana Football Association (GFA) in achieving a continuous and functional sports discipline from his predecessors, who are believed kowtowed to the whims and caprices of the Football Association.
The consequences of the actions and inactions of the minister towards the football association has so many catastrophic repercussions on the outcome on the achievement of goals and purpose of football in the country.
As to whether what the Hon. Minister is doing is appropriate or not, this article will only jot out who is likely to have a better say between the minister and the football association.
It is clearly stated in the FIFA constitution on how much the world football organization frowns on the interference of other parties in her relation with association bodies.
Severally, it has banned and given precautionary calls to many nations who have other parties dealing in countenance to what FIFA has for an association.
The minister who acts in the capacity of the government of Ghana sees to it that every sum of amount spent on the various sporting disciplines is accounted for, will be ill-motivated not to have a say in the activities of sports in the country.
Even though we are made to believe that, the government do not finance fully the activities of the various football national teams in the country, it will be preposterous and a hang at the neck on the wall by the football association to the government at large, which Hon. Nii Lantey Vanderpueye represents to prevent him from saying anything related to football in the country.
It is akin to a student saying his father has no right and audacity to claim for his terminal or semester results after toiling hard to pay for his school fees.That's highly impossible.
Paradoxically, that is not the woe and cry of the football association - not to allow the minister have a say in its running and management of football in the country- but should have a limit on what he says about the activities of the association not to infringe on FIFA laws that govern the game.
The 2014 commission of enquiry set up by the President to investigate Ghana's participation in the Brazil World Cup clearly exploited the governments ability to have a say in checking the finances of the various national teams by making them accountable to the nation which Hon. Minister is using to his advantage to always castigate and chastise the Ghana Football Association.
It is made clearly in broad daylight to have a fair glimpse to the fact that the minister came in purposely to have prick-a-prick with the football association as he has never come in agreement with them since his appointment even on matters concerning local football which the government do not run and finance.
Even if the football association is not doing things well as the minister always drums in the ears Ghanaians, it will only have the executive committee of the body to decide whether to do away with the hierarchy of the association or not.
But for the minister, his actions can cause the nation some whole years of not partaking in football activities under FIFA including our local football which he has become more vociferous than the major stakeholders of game.
Hon. Minister might have come in with other clean, clear and sincere approach to serve mother Ghana and her football related activities but can never be done if it not in line with the dictates of the football association from FIFA directives which could end up being a sanction by the world football controlling body, FIFA.
The reforms Nii Lantey promised to bring to Ghana Football will be in tenterhooks if he continues to be garrulous on issues which do not bother on the growth of Ghana football.
He seems to be the best minister of youth and sports over the past decade in his short stint at office but he is not defying all odds to stamp authority on his clearly defined principles as a former athlete but has rather chosen to neglect vital issues he should adhere to to seek the progress of the game as he wishes.
His immediate predecessors didn't have much knowledge on issues pertaining to sports, specifically football in the country so had little influence in their dealings with the FA.
Having been a known academician and a former athlete, he should know better on how to ensure that his planned reforms are expertly executed before leaving office which cannot be done without the football association.
The Ghana Football Association will always be there to run and manage football in the country under the strict guidance of FIFA who can question the state on any bad development from the government on football but Hon. Nii Lantey will surely go for others to come.
It is in accordance with the mindset of maintaining ensuring proper mechanisms to get the best of footballing activities including administrative wise, that makes it prudent for the minister to tone down and let the job and Ghanaians speak for him or else his utterance against "football" in the country will deprive alot of people jobless.
I am very much sure that the honourable minister is aware of this Akan adage which literally means "when your name is used to amend a law is bad and when it is used to remove a law is also bad."
The minister, in the end, will be able to calve a niche for himself in this portfolio but that wouldn't make him have the good name in the eyes of many hoi polloi and followers of the games though some really love what he is doing.
He might end up letting the football association getting the best of what he is doing and will laugh at the wrong side of his mouth like his predecessors did.
