SWAG Charges FA To Resolve Dispute Against Olympics

The Sport Writers Association of Ghana (SWAG), has called on the Ghana Football Association (GFA), to put its house in order to save the Ghana premier league.

According to the Association, the GFA must take every step necessary as a matter of urgency, to resolve its dispute against Accra Great Olympics and others that threaten the smooth running of the domestic calendar.

A statement signed by Mr. Kwabena Yeboah President of SWAG, said the dispute has already thrown the FA’s calendar out of gear following two injunctions placed by Olympics on the start of the 2017/18 Ghana Premier League and other domestic competitions.

SWAG noted that the ongoing dispute with Olympics, which has landed in court after the two parties failed to reach an amicable settlement, and other cases brought before Switzerland-based Court of Arbitration for Sports by Ghanaian clubs, provide a cause for concern.

The present situation, according to SWAG, are important red flags for the FA and all major stakeholders in Ghana football to, as a matter of urgency, take another look at some of the regulations, administrative procedures and operations, including those of the FA’s judicial bodies, which hinder speedy delivery of justice, create mistrust and suspicion, and provide fertile grounds for aggrieved clubs and individuals to seek justice outside the structures set up to adjudicate football cases.

“More than ever before, there is the need for the FA to take all steps necessary to create more transparency in its operations and ensure speedy determination of cases, through continuous reforms that builds trust into the system and prevents the situation the FA currently finds itself with so much uncertainty hanging round the commencement of the football season.

“SWAG is of the firm conviction that a well-run administrative setup, backed by good record-keeping and a very effective judicial system which ensures swift delivery of cases, will not only reduce the tendency for aggrieved parties to turn to the civil courts for justice, but also ensure that, the football calendar is not unnecessarily disrupted,” It added.