If one needed a reminder about the terrible state of Ghana football, then the thousands of unoccupied seats at the Accra Sports Stadium during the Hearts Of Oak versus Asante Kotoko game on Sunday, March 5, 2023, is the perfect answer
Not even an offer of ‘free gate’ could pull Ghanaians to watch a game that had two important things at stake – three points and a giant trophy which was going to be presented by no less a person than the president of the country, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
The sight of those empty seats has regenerated conversations about Ghana football as the sport looked to have picked up barely two years ago when both teams sold out the same stadium in a mere Premier League match.
For most people, the 2021/2022 season is one of the best seasons since Anas Aremeyaw Anas’ expose halted football in the country for a year and expectations were that it was going to be built on but it has turned out to be totally different story with Ghana football taking a further downward turn.
We look at five possible reasons behind the disinterest in the Ghana Premier League by most Ghanaians.
Here are five reasons for the decline in interest in the GPL
Low Publicity
The Ghana Football Association signed a three-year deal with Betpawa to become the headline sponsor of the competition.
In the $6 million worth deal($2 million every season), it was agreed that $1 million will be used to promote the league every season.
However, the publicity has been nothing to write home about. The promotion of big fixtures has been incredibly low.
Only a few ardent followers of the league are much abreast with which big fixture is up next, which team is leading the table, who are the top performers in the league, and so on.
While people are not interested in knowing, the information is also not projected well enough to draw their attention.
Player Exodus
One of the major concerns and the most mentioned cause of Ghana Football’s decline is player exodus.
Fans do not get to enjoy their favourite players for long. They only get to enjoy them for at most two seasons.
Owing to poor remuneration, players tend to jump ship whenever the opportunity avails which deprives the league of players whose names are enough to draw supporters to the stadium.
In the 2020/2021 season, the league made stars like Daniel Afriyie Barnieh, Fabio Gama, Kwame Opoku, Benjamin Afutu, Ibrahim Imoro, Diawisie Taylor, Benjamin Benard Boateng, Ibrahim Salifu, Dennis Korsah, Raddy Ovouka, Maxwell Abbey Quaye, Moro Salifu and many others.
Two seasons on and only two of the aforementioned players still play in the League that is Ibrahim Salisu and Dennis Korsah.
Bad pitches
Bad pitches are one of the worrying problems in the GPL. About 80 percent of pitches used by the clubs are in a very sorry state.
The state of the pitches affects teams’ style of play and makes matches unattractive to watch on screen or at the stadium.
Hence, there will be an ultimate decline in rewatching GPL games after an initial bad experience.
Poor refereeing
Refereeing in the GPL has been sub-par with clubs lodging complains virtually every week.
Consistent refereeing errors are worrying and also have an impact on fans’ interest, which is the case for the GPL.
Competition with superior leagues
The GPL is in keen competition with the foreign leagues for viewership. The latter is vastly improved especially the European leagues, and more significantly accessible.
The European leagues are better in quality, outstanding coverage, and everything that makes the league pleasing. Therefore, individuals prefer that to the GPL.
Source: Ghanaweb
