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Government has indicated its resolve to "sanitize football administration in the country" by undertaking some reforms in the shortest possible time as a result of the "pervasive rot within the Ghana Football Association (GFA)".

This follows the numerous corruption and bribery cases unearth in the latest exposé by ace investigative journalist, Anas Aremeyaw Anas, together with his investigative firm, Tiger Eye PI and the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) which focuses on Ghana's football administration.

New Body To Be Formed

According to a statement signed by the Information Minister Mustapha Hamid and copied to Peacefmonline.com, government said it is "shocked and outraged at the contents of the recently-aired video documentary which captures the investigation conducted into football administration...The documentary exposes the gross mal-functioning of the Ghana Football Association (GFA) characterized by widespread fraud, corruption and bribery".

The government has subsequently referred the conduct of all officials of the GFA together with the suspended Acting Director General of the National Sports Authority (NSA) Robert Sarfo Mensah to the Police Service.

The statement further indicated that "having regard to the widespread nature of the apparent rot....Government has decided to take immediate steps to have the GFA dissolved. Government will shortly, thereafter, announce provisional measures to govern football activities in the country, until a new body is duly formed;....

"Government will communicate these decisions to the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and the Federation of International Football Associations (FIFA), and engage with them on these developments to chart a way forward for Ghana football".

FIFA Ban Imminent?

Meanwhile, some football analysts argue this decision by government is likely to attract the wrath of the international governing body of association football. According to them, FIFA could ban Ghana as its rules oblige member associations to manage their own affairs "independently and with no influence from third parties."

It would be recalled that in 2014, FIFA suspended Nigeria from all international football amid allegations of government interference in its football federation.

FIFA's decision was made after a court order compelled the Nigerian Minister of Sports to appoint a senior member of the civil service to take over the running of the Nigeria Football Federation

In 2017, FIFA suspended the Football Associations of Mali, Sudan and Belize, claiming government interference in those FAs.