Astute Sports Administrator Herbert Mensah has urged the Ghana Football Association(GFA) to develop the love for the national teams by building a stronger relationship with football fans off-the-field.
The former Asante Kotoko CEO shared his opinions on the aftermath of the Black Stars’ abysmal show at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.
Ghana exited at the first stage after losing 2-1 to Cape Verde, drawing 2-2 against Egypt and by the same result in their stalemate against Mozambique.
For the Rugby Africa Chief, a lot should be upgraded for the Ghanaian fan.
“Football and Sports is life and we watch the sport we love with passion. Football is Ghana’s biggest sport and the expectation is always high.
“When we have entered into a cycle of failure, disappointments and higher expectations after huge investments, then it’s at this point where we have to say enough is enough.
“I have said sometime ago that being in charge of football as a sport, one of the mandates to yourself is to become self-financing.
“And I take that stigma away from government investing in football because the easiest sport to raise money for your administrative duties is football.
“Dont forget that I dont say this with ignorance or naivety as I have been into football and we did it with Asante Kotoko.
Herbert Mensah continued: “We got no money, no government sponsorship and in our rebuilding process we focused on the fans in our initial project by giving the fans respect.
“Because that’s what you have to do first and foremost. You give them respect and they come to the stadiums, you give them respect and they buy the products of your sponsors.
“Therefore, it helps you to invest more on the pitch technically and financially for your results.
“The job of administrators is to, first of all, win off-the-field. You win off-the-field and that means you have the chance in winning on the field.
“The rules of modern sport have changed and we seem to have not learnt enough. If the fundamentals are not done right off-the-field then winning on the field becomes worrying.
“You need the love of the fans by making the right administrative decisions by being strong financially and promoting the brand to attract the most important stakeholder and that is the supporter.”
Herbert concluded by pleading with the football administrators to strenghten the interest in national team football.
“The supporter has witnessed the failures and actions; Brazil 2014? Qatar 2022? Equatorial Guinea 2012?Or what we did in Abidjan?
“At what point can the supporter feel confident of this product. Something is wrong and someone must react in the interest of the Ghanaian football fan.”
