GFA SPEAKS OUT

The Ghana Football Association is asking Ghanaian journalist, Anas Aremeyaw Anas to furnish it with a copy of his latest exposé on corruption in local football dubbed ‘Number12.’
It said this would enable them ensure that an independent body investigates the allegations of corruption captured in the film.

In a statement issued on Thursday, June 7, 2018, the GFA said it takes the allegations “very seriously” and wishes to take steps to address them.

“…We view the allegations circulating in the media very seriously and would wish to take immediate steps to address them,” the statement said.
It further assured that it would not shield any official found to have taken bribes to breach football procedures.
The credibility of the Ghana Football Association, which manages all national football activities in the country has been dented by Anas Aremeyaw Anas’ investigative film which exposes massive rot and corruption in local football.
The video among other things captured top officials of the football association including its President Kwesi Nyantakyi taking bribes to influence the offer of an invitation of players to the national team, influencing the duration of playing offered to some players and influencing the selection of unfit players and referees to participate in games.
Also, more than 100 referees were caught on tape taking bribes to manipulate the outcome of games in a team’s favour.
Following the first screening of the video on Wednesday which attracted more than 3,000 persons, many have begun calling for a complete dissolution of the Ghana Football Association (GFA) and immediate resignation of its embattled president, Kwesi Nyantakyi.
Kwesi Nyantakyi, who is also the first Vice President of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) is yet to comment on the film.
He is already facing investigations from the Criminal Investigations Department of the Ghana Police Service after President Akufo-Addo filed a complaint after watching excerpts of Anas’ video that the embattled FA President was using his name to lure foreign investors.
Read the GFA’s full statement below:  
The Ghana Football Association (GFA)’s attention has been drawn to the airing of a documentary by Tiger Eye PI alleging acts of corruption by some match officials and senior officials of the federation.
The Gfa was not provided with an opportunity to watch the premiering of the documentary as it was neither provided with an advanced copy of the said documentary nor furnished with tickets by Tiger Eye PI to watch the airing.
Though the GFA did not commission Tiger Eye PI to undertake this exercise and have not been provided with the opportunity of watching the documentary, we view the allegations circulating in the media very seriously and would wish to take immediate steps to address them.
To this end, we believe its only fair and proper that Tiger Eye furnishes us with the said documentary and hereby request Tiger Eye as a matter of urgency to furnish us with all the recorded material on this documentary to enable us to forward it to the appropriate quarters for further investigations.
The GFA wishes to emphasise that it is an association incorporated under the laws of Ghana and as such governed by the laws of Ghana as well as its own Rules and Regulations. It is also affiliated to CAF and FIFA
The GFA wishes to place on record that, there will be no attempt of a cover-up or shield any of our members caught in alleged acts of corruption.
The GFA wishes to assure all that as an institution it does not condone any manner of corrupt practices.
We wish to put on record that eight months ago, we got evidence of some external influences seeking to manipulate matches in our various competitions.
As soon as it became clear to us that we were facing the possibility of some external influences seeking to destroy the sanctity of the game in Ghana, we wrote to FIFA seeking assistance to help combat this menace.
The action we took was in furtherance of the GFA’s desire to fight against match manipulation and maintain the integrity of our game and federation.
We received a full FIFA response a few days later, with an action plan on how we can fight the menace of match manipulation through a roadmap for the implementation of the national integrity initiative.
We are still working with FIFA Integrity Department to find the appropriate dates for the action to help educate our members on the dangers of this menace.
The GFA will subsequently be undertaking a holistic review and continue with our reforms geared towards the enhancement of its operations in dealing with alleged acts of corruption in the game.
We urge the football fraternity to remain calm and provide us with all the support we need as we bid to restore confidence and trust in our beautiful game.
We ask anyone with information about these allegations to get in touch with us through info@ghanafa.org
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By: Jonas Nyabor/citinewsroom.com/Ghana