The National Democratic Congress (NDC) flagbearer for the 2024 general elections, former President John Dramani Mahama, has announced an ambitious plan to overhaul and revitalize Ghana’s football system.

The leader and flagbearer of the opposition National Democratic Congress in a community engagement event during his Building Ghana Tour in Bongo in the Northern region expressed concern over the recent underwhelming performance of the national team at the Africa Cup of Nations.

According to former President John Dramani Mahama, the collapse of the traditional football development structures, such as the ‘Colts’ and ‘academic leagues’, which were crucial in identifying and nurturing young talents is particularly the reason for the decline in quality football in the country.

He emphasized the need to revive these systems and work closely with the Ghana Football Association (GFA) to create a robust foundation for the development of homegrown players to play in the National Teams during continental and international competitions.

The former president reminisced about the past when each district organized ‘Colts leagues’, which provided a platform for promising players to showcase their skills and talent and express worry over how such a system has completely waned out.

Mr Mahama underscored the extreme importance of the existence of the football academics, where schools competed against each other, which ultimately served as the breeding ground for future football stars.

The National Democratic Congress flagbearer also proposed a balanced approach where the core of the national team consists of domestic players who have developed a strong team dynamic, with foreign-based players complementing their efforts.

“We just came from the Africa Cup of Nations, and we performed abysmally. We performed abysmally because we were not growing our football. We will build a new Black Stars based on homegrown players, domestic players who have trained together for a long term and work as a team and then we bring the foreign ones to come and blend with them.
“If you bring only foreign-based players who don’t play together, they play in their teams and then when there’s time for competition you bring them and tell them to play it won’t work”.
former President John Dramani Mahama

Mahama Expresses Commitment To Collaborate With GFA To Improve Ghana’s Local Football

Moreover, the National Democratic Congress flagbearer for the 2024 general elections, former President John Dramani Mahama expressed his commitment to work in collaboration with the Ghana Football Association together with all local football associations to reignite the grassroots competitions in the country.

Mr Mahama specifically proposed the organization of football galas in districts across the country to identify and nurture talented players who would later play in the various national teams.

According to Mr Mahama, his administration when elected in the December 7 polls and subsequently sworn into office would offer and provide support to the Ghana Football Association to undertake initiatives that will allow them to identify and train some promising and talented players from young ages across the country.

As part of his revitalization strategy, Mr Mahama also pledged to offer scholarships to identified talents, enabling them to pursue secondary education while continuing their football development.

He envisioned a system where these players would eventually progress to play in the various national teams of the country to contribute to the overall improvement of Ghana’s football.