FOOTBALL FOR FUN OR AS A TOOL FOR AN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT:

AN ASSESSMENT OF THE DEVELOPMENT PRACTICES, POLITICAL AND

GOVERNMENTAL COMMITMENTS, AND THE ECONOMIC CONTRIBUTION
OF THE LOCAL PROFESSIONAL LEAGUE (GHANA PREMIER LEAGUE)

A Special Study submitted to the Department of Planning, Kwame Nkrumah University

of Science and Technology, Kumasi in partial fulfilment of the requirements for

the Degree of Bachelor of Science in Development Planning

By

SALIF ABDULLAH

SEPTEMBER, 2021
 DECLARATION
I hereby declare that this submission is my work toward the honour of a Degree in BSc.
Development Planning and that, to the best of my knowledge, it contains neither material
previously published by another person or materials which have been accepted for the award
of any other degree by this or any other university except where due acknowledgement has
been made in the text.

Salif Abdullah ………………………

…………………………

(Student) Signature Date

Certified by:

Dr Steven Appiah Takyi ……………………….

……………………….

(Supervisor) Signature Date

Prof. Michael Poku-Boansi ………………………

……………………

(Head of Department) Signature Date

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 ABSTRACT
The football sector in recent times has transformed from a social event into a global socio-
economic venture with the capacity to influence development. This has made football into an
unconventional driver of economic development. However, countries have been able to
harness the capacity of the football sector the development of the sector. The development of
the sector requires the coordinated approach from the government, private sector, and the
voluntary sports organisations. This study revealed that football has been in existence in
Ghana for over a century, but organised football has been in existence for about six decades.
The study also revealed that politics have deep roots in Ghana football and as such have
influenced the sport immensely. This study seeks to assess the development practices of
football in Ghana, the political and government promises made to develop the sport and its
implications, and the impact of the local professional league (Ghana Premier League). The
study lied on secondary data as the principal sources of data for both qualitative and
quantitative data types. The study also employed a mix of comparative assessment, thematic
analysis and content analysis for the data analysis. The findings from the study revealed the
current football landscape is testament to the uncoordinated and disjointed approach to
development employed in the football sector. The study also revealed that the government
and politicians rely on the social capital of football but have been little to its development of
the sector. Finally, the study revealed that the local professional league possesses the
potential to be a vehicle for development, but if the sector is developed.

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
My greatest gratitude goes to the Almighty God for His grace, knowledge and wisdom He
gave me in the course of this study. I will also like to thank the good Lord for the life of my
parents, my elder brother and other family members whose contribution into my academic
life in the past four years cannot be quantified. I pray and wish that they live long enough to
enjoy the fruits of their labour.

I would also like to express my profound gratitude to my supervisor, Dr Steven Appiah

Takyi, of the Department of Planning, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and
Technology for his commitment, dedication and most importantly his patience towards me to
successfully see this work through to the end. Words cannot express how grateful I am to
you, Dr Steven Appiah Takyi. I will forever be thankful to him for his encouragement and
the unique attention he provided to the work that has taken me through the timely completion
of the special study. May the good Lord bless you, guide you and give you long life to guide
the next generation of planners.

I would also want to thank my colleague, Chiga Augustine, of the Development Planning
Four class for his assistance and guidance to the successful completion of this study. I know I
was not the easiest of persons to teach but you gave it your all and guided me. I will like to
say a very big thank you and may the good Lord bless and guide you.

Finally, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to the friends I made in my four years
academic journey. Thank you Miss. Asiedu Peprah Wendy, Mr. Kander Daniel, Mr. Bawre
Emmanuel, Mr. Awinimi Johnson, Mr. Frimpong Desmond, Mr. Aduko Ansbert, Mr. Bilson
Maxwell, and Mr. Boadu Stephen, for your unflinching support during my academic journey.
Thank you once again and may the good Lord bless you.

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

CONTENTS PAGE
Declaration.................................................................................................................................i

Abstract.....................................................................................................................................ii

Acknowledgements.................................................................................................................iii

Table Of Contents…………………………………………………………………………...iv

List Of Tables………………………………………………………………………………viii

List Of Figures……………………………………………………………………................ix

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background.........................................................................................................................1

1.2 Problem Statement.............................................................................................................3

1.3 Research Questions............................................................................................................6

1.4 Research Objectives...........................................................................................................6

1.5 Scope....................................................................................................................................7

1.6 Justification.........................................................................................................................8

1.7 Organisation of Report......................................................................................................8

CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Introduction........................................................................................................................9

2.2 Evolution of football as an economic sector.....................................................................9

2.2.1 Professionalism..............................................................................................................9

2.2.2 Media and Broadcasting rights....................................................................................10

2.2.3 Sponsorships................................................................................................................10

2.3 Economic Impact of football from the perspective of English Premier League,
Spanish La Liga and German Bundesliga...........................................................................11

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 2.3.1 Employment................................................................................................................12

2.3.2 Revenue Generation....................................................................................................13

2.4 Government Efforts to the Development of Football as a sport..................................13

2.4.1 Policies........................................................................................................................14

2.5 History of Football in Ghana..........................................................................................15

2.5.1 Formation of Clubs and Spread of Football in Ghana.................................................15

2.5.2 The formation of a National formation Association....................................................16

2.5.3 The Organisation of a national football league...........................................................16

2.5.4 Professionalism in Ghana football...............................................................................18

2.5.5 Political and Government Interest towards football and its development in Ghana...18

2.6 Conceptual Framework...................................................................................................20

2.7 Summary of Chapter Two...............................................................................................24

CHAPTER THREE

METHODOLOGY

3.1 Introduction......................................................................................................................25

3.2 Profile of Football in Ghana............................................................................................25

3.3 Profile of the local professional league (Ghana Premier League, GPL).....................26

3.4 Research Approach..........................................................................................................27

3.5 Source of Data, Data Collection and Analysis...............................................................28

3.6 Research Ethics................................................................................................................29

3.7 Limitations of the study...................................................................................................29

3.8 Summary of Chapter Three............................................................................................29

CHAPTER FOUR

ANALYSIS

4.1 Introduction......................................................................................................................32

4.2 Comparative assessment of Ghana’s football development practices with best

international practices...........................................................................................................32

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 4.2.1 Investment in Football.................................................................................................33

4.2.2 Development of grassroots..........................................................................................35

4.2.3 Coaches and technical personnel development...........................................................36

4.2.4 Formulation and implementation of a football policy and philosophy.......................37

4.3 Assessing the football development political promises outlined in the manifestos of
the two previous governments administrations (2013-2017 and 2017-2021)....................39

4.3.1 Provision of Infrastructure...........................................................................................40

4.3.2 Management Structures...............................................................................................41

4.3.3 Financial Support.........................................................................................................42

4.3.4 Grassroot Development...............................................................................................43

4.4 Assessment of the economic contribution of the football sector to the economy.......45

4.4.1 Employment................................................................................................................45

4.4.2 Revenue Generation....................................................................................................47

CHAPTER FIVE

FINDINGS, RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION

5.1 Introduction......................................................................................................................49

5.2 Findings.............................................................................................................................49

5.2.1 The Current Approach to Football Development is Disjointed and Uncoordinated...49

5.2.2 Inadequate investment in the football sector...............................................................49

5.2.3 Lack of grassroots development approach..................................................................50

5.2.4 Lack of coaches and technical personnel training approach.......................................50

5.2.5 Lack of a clear-cut philosophy....................................................................................51

5.2.6 Previous governments have failed to implement their political promises to football
development.........................................................................................................................51

5.2.7 The Local Professional League is an avenue for economic development...................52

5.3 Recommendations............................................................................................................53

5.3.1 A complete overhaul and replacement of the current football development practices
and approach.........................................................................................................................53

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 5.3.2 Government Focuses more on the local football sector..............................................54

5.4 Conclusion.........................................................................................................................55

References

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 LIST OF TABLES
TABLES PAGE

LIST OF FIGURES
FIGURES PAGE

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 CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background
Recently, research into football has shown that the sport has transitioned from a social event
to a socio-economic venture which commercialises the entertainment values it generates
(Alegi, 2010; Andrews & Harrington, 2016). This shift in perspective in football is as a result
of the recognition and maximisation of the capacity of the sport to impact a country’s
development both socially and economically (Andrews & Harrington, 2016; Beech &
Chadwick, 2004; Bhandari, 2016; Chadwick et al., 2007; ‘For The Good Of The Game’’:
Commercial, Legal, & Regulatory Issues In Nigerian Football - Media, Telecoms, IT,
Entertainment - Nigeria,’ 2020). This makes football an unconventional driver of economic
development in addition to the social benefit it contributes to the socio-cultural fabric of a
country (Bhandari, 2016; ‘For The Good Of The Game’’: Commercial, Legal, & Regulatory
Issues In Nigerian Football - Media, Telecoms, IT, Entertainment - Nigeria,’ 2020;
Krabbenbos, 2013; McKinsey & Company, 2020). In view of this, countries have maximised
football’s capacity to serve as an unconventional alternative approach to development by
putting in place strategic efforts to develop the sector.

The development of football can be achieved through a coordinated approach from the three
principal stakeholders, thus the government, the private sector and the voluntary sports
organisations (Zhang et al., 2018). Although these three stakeholders combine to influence
the development of football, the government’s role is crucial (Why Government’s Financial
Investment in Football Could Be a Game-Changer - Sadick Adams Writes - Opera News,
n.d.). Countries that have developed their football such as, Germany and England, have done
so with their governments playing a central role in the development process (Sienu, 2021;
Why Government’s Financial Investment in Football Could Be a Game-Changer - Sadick
Adams Writes - Opera News, n.d.). For example, Germany’s reinvention of their football
sector was as a result of a coordinated collaboration between the Deutscher Fußball-Bund
(DFB) and the Government. This collaboration saw to the strategic investment of $15.6
million over a period of 5 years to produce young talents to keep the football sector running
both domestically and nationally (Clapham, 2018; Honigstein, 2015). According to Sienu
(2021) and (Why Government’s Financial Investment in Football Could Be a Game-Changer
- Sadick Adams Writes - Opera News, n.d.), countries with a developed football sector, such

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as England and Germany, reached the pinnacle of football with their governments showing a
high level of interest and commitment to the development of the sport. The evidence from
these countries show that the development of football can be realised if governments invest
towards the course.

There is a direct correlation between developing football and harnessing the capacity of
football (Sienu, 2021; Why Government’s Financial Investment in Football Could Be a
Game-Changer - Sadick Adams Writes - Opera News, n.d.). For example, English football
before the advent of the premier league was riddled with issues, major among them were
hooliganism and poor stadium facilities (Gibson, 2009). These two factors resulted in
numerous stadium related incidents such as the Hillsborough disaster in 1989 (Gibson, 2009).
The government set up the Lord Taylor commission to investigate the causes and give
recommendations. The Taylor commission report at the end of the enquiry became the
blueprint for the development of English football (Gibson, 2009). One of the major
recommendations was that all stadiums be converted to all-seat and the government helped
cushion the burden on the clubs by investing £31million a year channelled into the Football
Trust (Gibson, 2009). This resulted in the sanitisation and revival of English football, and the
subsequent creation of the Premier League a few years later. After about 3 decades, the
premier league generates about €5.9 billion as revenue and employs about 100,000 people on
full-time basis (Deloitte, 2020; Ernest and Young, 2019). The above evidence shows that the
football’s capacity as an unconventional driver of economic development can be harnessed if
the sector is developed.

Whilst numerous developed countries have been able to actualize the economic capacity of
football through strategically developing it, the situation is the opposite in sub-Saharan
African countries, especially Ghana (Charway & Houlihan, 2020; Darby, 2007; Darby et al.,
2007; Esson, 2016; Pannenborg, 2010). Football’s development has been at the periphery of
government development discourse even though football has been in existence and have
influenced the social fabric of the country for over a century (Charway & Houlihan, 2020;
Darby, 2007; Pannenborg, 2010). This argument is further backed by Kakonge (2016)
assertion that most African governments have failed to sufficiently appreciate the importance
of football for it to be integrated into national development plans. The football sector is
characterised by poor strategic policy directions, poor strategic investments and misplaced
priorities (Charway & Houlihan, 2020; Pannenborg, 2010, 2012). Ghanaian governments and
political leaders’ commitment towards football development have always been towards the

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senior national team to the detriment of the overall development of the sector (Ocansey, R.,
2013. Setting a New Agenda for Sports Development & Teaching Physical Activity Optimize-
Health for Sports Excellence. - Google Search, n.d.). This has affected the overall
development of the football sector. Despite the enormous benefits the football sector presents
to the development of a nation, policy makers in Ghana have failed to put in place the
requisite policies that will help actualise the full potential of the sector. This has resulted in
the numerous challenges confronting Ghana and the football sector in the country. This study
therefore seeks to assess the development practices and approach currently employed in the
football sector. It also seeks to assess the promises made by politicians towards the
development of football and its implementation, and the economic contribution of the
football sector (Ghana Premier League) to the economy.

1.2 Problem Statement

It is obvious that football as a sport in recent times has transformed from its social nature into
a global socio-economic venture as a result of the commercialisation of the entertainment
value attached to the sport (Alegi, 2010; Andrews & Harrington, 2016). The transformation
of the sport in recent times has made it assume the role of an unconventional vehicle for
development (Ernest and Young, 2019; McKinsey & Company, 2015, 2020;
PricewaterhouseCoopers, 2018). Countries, especially those in the global north such as
England, Germany, Spain, among others, have proved that the football sector has the
potential to be a vehicle for development. However, these countries have been able to do so
through the development of their football sector (Clapham, 2018; Sienu, 2021; The Recipe
for Success: The Plan behind Germany’s Domination of World Football | Bundesliga, 2017).
While these countries have benefited from the football sector through its development, other
countries, especially those in the global south, are yet to fully recognise and harness the
potential of the football sector, as evidenced by the poor level of football development in
such countries (Chappelet & IDHEAP Swiss Graduate School of Public Administration,
2010; Darby et al., 2007; Ghana - An Apology of a Footballing Nation Lived under a Hoax.,
2021; Kakonge, 2016; Modernghana, n.d.; Pannenborg, 2010, 2012). This shows that there
exists a direct relationship between harnessing the capacity of the football sector and
developing the football sector. Thus, to benefit from the immense capacity of football,
requires that the sport be developed wholistically. Despite the fact that football in Ghana is
very popular and deeply rooted in the social fabric of the country, the country has failed to
actualise the capacity of the football sector to make it serve as a vehicle for development

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(Chappelet & IDHEAP Swiss Graduate School of Public Administration, 2010; Darby, 2007;
Esson, 2016; FEATURE: Ghana’s Failure in Youth Football: The Growth We Need - Ghana
Latest Football News, Live Scores, Results - GHANAsoccernet, n.d.; FootballGhana, 2019;
Kakonge, 2016; Modernghana, n.d.; Pannenborg, 2010, 2012). This is because football in
Ghana today is still being run like the social event it was before it transformed into the global
socio-economic venture that it is today (Pannenborg, 2010, 2012). The current landscape of
football in Ghana can be attributed to the development practices or approaches being
employed and the constant failure of politicians to implement their football development
political promises issued in their manifesto prior to their elections.

The inability of the current football landscape to impact positively on the economy of the
country stems from the disjointed and uncoordinated approach to development that is
employed in the Ghanaian football scene (Pannenborg, 2010, 2012). The current football
landscape is fraught with a plethora of challenges such as, inadequate football infrastructure,
weak systems, lack of a grassroots identification and development programme, lack of
coaches and technical development education programmes and facilities, lack of financial
support, low level of commercialisation, among others (Chappelet & IDHEAP Swiss
Graduate School of Public Administration, 2010; FEATURE: Ghana’s Failure in Youth
Football: The Growth We Need - Ghana Latest Football News, Live Scores, Results -
GHANAsoccernet, n.d.; Ghana - An Apology of a Footballing Nation Lived under a Hoax.,
2021; Government Investing in Football Development; a Responsibility Not a Favour, n.d.;
Why Government’s Financial Investment in Football Could Be a Game-Changer - Sadick
Adams Writes - Opera News, n.d.; FootballGhana, 2019; Kakonge, 2016; Sienu, 2021). This
is because the football development practice and approach does not provide an environment
conducive enough to support the wholistic growth and development of football. This has
resulted in the poor performance level of Ghanaian clubs in the local professional leagues and
the CAF organised international competitions, the ever-increasing exodus of Ghanaian
talents, the invasion of foreign coaches into the local football and national team scene, among
others. The current football development approach, according to football enthusiasts and
experts in the country, puts the future of Ghana football under serious threat (FEATURE:
Ghana’s Failure in Youth Football: The Growth We Need - Ghana Latest Football News,
Live Scores, Results - GHANAsoccernet, n.d.; Ghana - An Apology of a Footballing Nation
Lived under a Hoax., 2021; Government Investing in Football Development; a Responsibility
Not a Favour, n.d.; Kakonge, 2016; Sienu, 2021).

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The problems that the current football landscape face is further compounded by the failure of
politicians and governments to implement the political promises made prior to their elections
and also, the increased obsession and overt politicisation of the senior male national team
(Black Stars) (Charway & Houlihan, 2020; Darby, 2007, 2013; Otoo, 2014; Pannenborg,
2010, 2012). Since the beginning of the 4th republic, politicians have come to power using
football as one of its efficient campaign tools. Thus, politicians have made numerous political
promises to develop the football sector, but when voted into power, these politicians fail to
put their promises into action. This has resulted in the recycling of football development
promises in the manifestos of the two top political parties in Ghana, the National Democratic
Congress and the New Patriotic Party. Thus, it is obvious that these two parties have outlined
similar political promises to develop the football sector over the past two decades.
Nevertheless, when voted into power, These governments and politicians, however, tend to
show interest in the Ghanaian football through the provision of huge funds to support the
budget of the senior national team (Black Stars) (Charway & Houlihan, 2020; Ocansey, R.,
2013. Setting a New Agenda for Sports Development & Teaching Physical Activity Optimize-
Health for Sports Excellence. - Google Search, n.d.; The $25 Million Problem: A Look at
Past Expenses and Earnings of Black Stars - MyJoyOnline.Com, 2021). Though this
approach has shown not to work consistently, it is still being adopted in the country (Charway
& Houlihan, 2020; Why Government’s Financial Investment in Football Could Be a Game-
Changer - Sadick Adams Writes - Opera News, n.d; The $25 Million Problem: A Look at
Past Expenses and Earnings of Black Stars - MyJoyOnline.Com, 2021). A trend analysis on
the amount of money successive governments have released to the Ghana Football
Association to fund the campaign of the senior national team (Black Stars) shows that the
government has spent over $25 million in the past decade over the activities of the senior
national team, but the results remain the same (The $25 Million Problem: A Look at Past
Expenses and Earnings of Black Stars - MyJoyOnline.Com, 2021). Many football enthusiasts
and stakeholders argue that those amounts could have been better utilised if it was invested in
the development of football in general in the country. Here, these stakeholders of football
argue that until the government change its approach and show enough commitment towards
the wholesome development of football in Ghana, the country will not be able to actualize the
capacity of the sport (Sienu, 2021; The $25 Million Problem: A Look at Past Expenses and
Earnings of Black Stars - MyJoyOnline.Com, 2021).

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Conventional literature on football in Ghana shows that scholarly works have focused on
description of football in Ghana, the exploitation of the youth, the influence of “big men” in
football, politics and football, and the history of football. For example, scholars such as
(Pannenborg, 2010, 2012) did extensive study on the football landscape in Ghana and in
Africa, the historical perspective of football in Ghana and Africa, and the influence of “big
men” in Ghanaian and African football. (Darby, 2013; Otoo, 2014) on the other hand, studied
the relationship between football and nation building in Ghana, while (Esson, 2013, 2016)
studied the exploitation of the youth in their quest to become professionals. (Darby, 2007,
2013) also made contributions to Ghanaian football literature through the studies of football
and politics in Ghana, and (Charway & Houlihan, 2020) studied the profile of sports in
Ghana. Despite the existence of research on football in Ghana, especially the political
influence of football in Ghana, there is limited research on the development practices and
approach employed in the Ghanaian football sector. Observing the current football landscape,
the challenges it is fraught with, and its inability to serve as a vehicle for economic
development, it is imperative to assess the disjointed and uncoordinated football development
practice and approach employed in the football sector. And also, the constant failure of
politicians to implement their political promises to develop the football sector, and the ever-
increasing obsession and overt politicisation of the Black Stars. This study will therefore
improve upon existing literature by looking at the disjointed and uncoordinated football
development approach and practices in Ghana in comparison with best international
practices, the political promises of governments towards football development and the
economic impact the local professional football sector has on the economy (Ghana Premier
League).

1.3 Research Questions

This study seeks to answer the following research questions;

 How has the current disjointed and uncoordinated approach to football development
in Ghana contributed to the current football landscape;
 How has football development featured in the manifestos of politicians;
 What is the economic contribution of the football sector (GPL) to the economy; and

1.4 Research Objectives

The overall aim of this study is to investigate the economic impact of football to the local
economy of Ghana. Specifically, the study seeks to;

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  To comparatively assess the football development practices in Ghana as against best
international practices;
 To assess the football development political promises outlined in the manifestos of the
two previous governments administrations; and
 To assess the economic contribution of the football sector to the economy.

1.5 Scope
Geographically, the study will focus on the west African nation of Ghana found on the coast
of the Gulf of Guinea. Ghana’s total land area is about 238,533 square kilometres (Ghana
Location and Size - Flags, Maps, Economy, History, Climate, Natural Resources, Current
Issues, International Agreements, Population, Social Statistics, Political System, 2004).
Ghana as a country lies in the centre of the African coast, and shares about 2,093 km of
border lands with three French-speaking countries, i.e. Burkina Faso (548km) to the north,
Cote d’Ivoire (668 km) to the west, and Togo (877 km) to the east (Ghana Location and Size
- Flags, Maps, Economy, History, Climate, Natural Resources, Current Issues, International
Agreements, Population, Social Statistics, Political System, 2004). The country’s
southernmost coast at Cape Three Point lies at 4 30’ north of the equator and extends inland
for 670kilometers to about 11 north (Ghana Location and Size - Flags, Maps, Economy,
History, Climate, Natural Resources, Current Issues, International Agreements, Population,
Social Statistics, Political System, 2004).. The distance across the widest part, between
longitude 1 12’ east and longitude 3 15’ west, measures about 560 kilometres. The
Greenwich Meridian, which passes through London, also traverses the eastern part of Ghana
at Tema (Ghana Location and Size - Flags, Maps, Economy, History, Climate, Natural
Resources, Current Issues, International Agreements, Population, Social Statistics, Political
System, 2004)..

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Figure 1.1: Map of Ghana
Source: Author’s own construct, 2021

Contextually, this research concentrates on the development of football in Ghana. The study
will also focus on the economic contribution of football, specifically the Ghana Premier
League. The variables for assessment include, the current football development practice as
against best international practices, the commitment of political leaders to football
development, and the revenue and employment generated in the football sector.

1.6 Justification
This study seeks to contribute to the literature on the development of football in Ghana. The
research findings will be applicable not only in Ghana but in sub-Saharan countries with
similar characteristics with Ghana. Overall, this research will help address some of the
knowledge gaps in football development literature within the African context and also lead to
an improvement in the knowledge of football development among football stakeholders.
Also, considering the level of development of football in Ghana, this study will focus on the
government and political commitments and efforts as factors that will contribute to the
development of football in Ghana.

This study will also seek to investigate the economic contribution that the football industry
can have on the economy of the country with focus on the revenues generated by the clubs
and the jobs created by the industry. The findings of this study will bring to focus the level of
impact that the football industry is currently having on the economy of the country.

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Finally, this study seeks to investigate the prospect and challenges of the football industry
and how the national sports act 934 (2016) have contributed to the development of football in
Ghana. The findings of this study will highlight the immense potential that the football
industry possesses, the challenges the stakeholders face in the industry today and how the
role the sports act have played in the overall development of the sport.

1.7 Organisation of Report

This study is divided into five chapters. Chapter one is a general introduction of the study and
made up of the objectives, scope and methodology. Chapter two contains a review of
literature on football, its history, evolution, government efforts to football development and
evolution of football in Ghana. Chapter three on the other hand outlines the methodology
employed in the study. Chapter Four contains the analysis of the data collected. Finally,
chapter five provides findings, makes recommendations and concludes the study.

CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Introduction
This chapter of the study focuses on reviewing literature on football. The literature consists of
a history of contemporary football, the evolution of football from a social venture into a
socio-economic venture, the economic impact of football with focus on England, Germany
and Spain, Government’s effort towards football development, and the evolution of football
in Ghana.

2.2 Evolution of football as an economic sector

Football as a sport has transformed from a social spectacle into a socio-economic venture.
This transformation can be contributed to a series of factors such as the introduction of
professionalism, the introduction and continuous rise of the media and broadcasting rights,
the introduction and continuous rise in sponsorship deals, and merchandising.

2.2.1 Professionalism
The transformation of football into a socio-economic venture began with the acceptance and
legalisation of professionalism in the sport (Goldblatt, 2006). This situation allowed clubs to
pay players for their services, especially the top players, however, it also provided the

9|Page
opportunity for clubs with rich bankrollers to poach players from other clubs. This set-in
motion the transfer of professional players. Professionalism as a concept first appeared in
English football in the mid-1800s (Goldblatt, 2006). The elite men in football believed
professionalism will threaten the spirit and purity of the sport which laid in its amateurish
nature. In other words, the elite believed the sport is supposed to be a purely social spectacle
(Goldblatt, 2006). The working-class clubs in England also believed that professionalism was
the only way they could compete with the elite teams. As a result, these clubs pushed
vehemently for the acceptance and legalisation of the concept. By 1885, professionalism was
finally accepted and made legal in football in England (Goldblatt, 2006). The acceptance of
professionalism changed the scope of football from a purely social spectacle into a socio-
economic venture. By the mid-20th century, professionalism had spread outside England to
other European countries and later to the South and North America, Asia and Africa. Hiller et
al. (2002) asserts that England as a country have influenced the development of many sports
in the world and football is one clear example.

2.2.2 Media and Broadcasting rights

Bolotny and Bourg (2006) asserts that there exists a symbiotic relationship between sport and
the media which allows these two parties to benefit from each other mutually. Krabbenbos
(2013) also posits that about 50% of the global population follow football as a sport. This has
made football into a huge avenue for content and audience for the media. This symbiotic
relationship that exists between football as a sport and the media has intensified. The
intensification of the symbiotic relationship between football and the media can be attributed
to the introduction of sophisticated technology, and the advent and continuous evolution of
the internet (Krabbenbos, 2013; Turner, 2007).

The symbiotic relationship between football and the media relies on the continuous
improvement of both football as a sport and the media (Turner, 2007). As a result, this
situation has led to the increased competition of the media to secure the rights of top football
competitions in order to provide quality content to their growing user base (Turner, 2007).
This has inadvertently resulted in the continuous proliferation of prices for these rights
(Turner, 2007). However, the summer of 1992 introduced football to a whole new frontier in
television rights in England and subsequently in the football world in general. The Premier

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League before 1992 had a media rights deal that was worth about £11million pounds, but
since the introduction of Sky Broadcasting Corporation, a satellite subscription-based
television company, the Premier League’s media rights have increased exponentially. The
media rights rose from about £11 million to about £222 million in 1992 and since then the
media rights deal continue to increase exponentially (Conn, 2018).

The media and broadcasting rights have become a relevant and endearing source of revenue
in football in recent times. The media rights of top leagues in the world such as the English
Premier League and the German Bundesliga at the end of the 2018/19 season hovered around
€5 billion (Deloitte, 2020). The Media rights deal at the end of the 2018/19 season accounted
for 50% of the total revenue generated by these two top leagues (€9.2 billion) (Deloitte,
2020).

2.2.3 Sponsorships
Sponsorships in football in recent times have become a relevant and endearing source of
revenue in football. Sponsorships in football in recent times takes diverse forms which
includes shirt sponsorships. In the 1950s, Uruguayan club, Penarol, introduced the football
world to shirt sponsorships when the club emblazoned a corporate logo on their shirt (A
Brief History of Football, n.d.; The Evolution of Football Shirt Sponsorship Deals | LITTLE,
n.d.). Although sponsorships were not a welcomed concept in football, especially in the top
football countries in Europe, clubs in France, Denmark and Austria took the Penarol path as a
way to complement their revenue generation (A Brief History of Football, n.d.; The Evolution
of Football Shirt Sponsorship Deals | LITTLE, n.d.). Gradually sponsorships became a new
way of generating revenue for clubs and as a result, clubs were exploring the idea of making
use of this new opportunity although it was still was still not a welcomed subject. In 1973, a
German Bundesliga club Eintracht Braunschweig introduced the Bundesliga to shirt
sponsorships. This caused a dispute between the club and the German Football Federation for
a period of 7 months until the German Football Federation caved and allowed corporations to
sponsor the clubs (A Brief History of Football, n.d.; The Evolution of Football Shirt
Sponsorship Deals | LITTLE, n.d.). In 1976, Kettering Town club in the southern English
league introduced the English league to sponsorships. The league officials tried to block the
club but ultimately caved and allowed clubs to have corporate sponsors in English football (A
Brief History of Football, n.d.; The Evolution of Football Shirt Sponsorship Deals | LITTLE,
n.d.).

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The increased interest in football has made the sport a global phenomenon in recent times and
the clubs, global brands. This has made football into an avenue for corporations to capitalise
and advertise their products to the growing and diverse market outside (Sartori, 2020). Top
leagues such as the English Premier League and the German Bundesliga generate about €2
billion in sponsorship and commercial deals (Deloitte, 2020).

2.3 Economic Impact of football from the perspective of English Premier League,
Spanish La Liga and German Bundesliga
Football’s economic scope has changed drastically in the last 3 decades. Football as a sport is
regarded as a huge global socio-economic venture with a global following. This has made the
sport a relevant avenue for major corporations to invest in the aim of advertising their
products and brands to a wide array of audience. (Jarvie & Maguire, 2020) points out that
football’s appeal as a market for corporations emerged in the 1980s and has been growing
ever since. Although (Jarvie & Maguire, 2020) asserts that football’s market appeal for
corporations emerged in the 1980s, Gratton et al. (2014) also posits that football’s
commercial potential has been in existence before World War I. McComb (2004) further
points that since the birth and subsequent growth of contemporary football, organisers and
custodians of the sport have realised that the sport has economic potential because of the
willingness of people to pay to enjoy the sport. Though the economic potentials of football
have been in existence as early as around the period of World War I (WWI) (Gratton et al.,
2014), however, these economic and commercial factors were not dominant until late in the
20th century. The transformation of football into a global market for corporations can be
attributed to the advent and improvement in media and broadcasting, the internet and the
nexus of media, sports and business (Gratton et al., 2014).

The realisation and exploitation of the economic and commercial capacity of football has
resulted in the increased commercialisation of football, and subsequently have provided clubs
with diverse revenue streams aside the basic match day ticket sales. Deloitte (2020) reports
that increased commercialisation in football in recent times have provided the sport with wide
an array of revenue sources such as broadcasting and media rights, sponsorships, advertising
and merchandising, and the transfer of players. Andrews & Harrington (2016) assert that
football as a sport generates about $33 billion in revenues globally annually. This figure
continues to grow because the revenue streams in football continues to evolve and the amount
generated through these streams increases exponentially.

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Football’s transformation as a socio-economic venture has made it an unconventional avenue
to impact development in countries that have developed their sport. The impact of football is
diverse and transcends both social and economic factors. However, the focus of this study is
on the economic contribution of football in a country. This study focuses on employment and
revenue generation of football.

2.3.1 Employment
Football as a sport is widely accepted in recent times as a huge socio-economic venture with
the economic aspect of the sport ever growing. The economic aspect of the sport is both
direct and indirect. Employment is one of the direct impacts the sport of football has on an
economy. Football as a sport account for about 5% employment globally. Developed leagues
such as the English Premier League, the Spanish La Liga and German Bundesliga have
impacted immensely on the economy of these countries. Directly these leagues contribute
about 80,674 employments, and have indirectly contributed about 330,953 people on full-
time and occasionally temporal basis (Ernest and Young, 2019; McKinsey & Company,
2020; PricewaterhouseCoopers, 2018). According to McKinsey & Company (2020), a direct
employment created by the Bundesliga indirectly creates about 12 jobs in other sectors of the
economy. Also, PricewaterhouseCoopers (2018) reports that for every single direct
employment the Spanish La Liga creates, 4 additional employments are generated in other
sectors of the economy. This shows how impactful football as a sport if developed, could be
on an economy. Thus, the development of football and the subsequent growth of an economy
has a direct and mutual relationship.

2.3.2 Revenue Generation

(Shannon, 1999) asserts that the continuous proliferation of interest in football as a sport has
made it into a business avenue with the capacity to generate huge amounts as revenue. The
growing capacity of football as a business has made it without a doubt a truly massive
business venture. The growing business aspect of football has contributed to the
transformation of the sport into socio-economic venture in recent times. This transformation
can be attributed to the introduction and improvement in technology that has allowed the
game to be developed, and also made accessible to diverse array of people across the length
and breadth of the globe (Krabbenbos, 2013; Turner, 2007). This means the more popular the
sport is, the more corporations are willing to invest in the game in the bid to get their
products out there (Krabbenbos, 2013). Football as a sport is believed to accrue in excess of
$33 billion annually (Andrews & Harrington, 2016). This figure is about 40% of the annual

13 | P a g e
global sports revenue (Andrews & Harrington, 2016). This means football as a sport is the
highest revenue generating sport in the world. Top countries with highly developed leagues
make the most of this amount because of the attention these leagues are able to generate.
Leagues such as the English Premier League, the Spanish La Liga and the German
Bundesliga generate in excess of €12 billion at the end of the 2018/19 league season
(Deloitte, 2020). Out of this revenue generated, these leagues are able to contribute about
£2.5 billion, $4.66 billion and €3.2 billion in taxes to their respective economy (Deloitte,
2020). This implies that football have the potential as an unconventional tool for economic
development if the sport is developed.

2.4 Government Efforts to the Development of Football as a sport

There is no doubt that the sport of football has transformed into a huge global socio-
economic venture especially in the last three (3) decades. This has made the sport an
unconventional driver of economic development. Evidence for this assertion can be taken
from countries like England, Spain, Germany and other countries who have been able to
explore and harness the potential of the sport. However, for these countries to be able to
realise such impacts the sport has had on their economies and their societies in general, these
countries developed their football. The development of football as a sport requires a
coordinated effort from the state, the media and the private sector. The state’s role in the
development of the sport is principal. This is because the state as an institution initiates and
manages the development efforts and processes of a country. This is to say, the development
of any sector of the society or economy requires that the state put in a conscious development
effort else, such sector fails and the country will miss out on the potential of that sector. The
state affects the development of a sector through the formulation of detailed policies that can
influence the development of the sector.

2.4.1 Policies
To guide the development of any industry, policies are prepared which serve as guidelines to
manage the development process. This phenomenon is trye for the development of football.
Countries that have developed their football and are benefiting from football, employed
conscious effort to guide the development of their football so that it suites the overall national
agenda (Hallmann et al., 2017).

For example, in Germany, the football sector has seen a meteoric rise in recent times and this
is as a result of a conscious effort employed by the German football association with support
from the federal government implemented a policy called, “Das Reboot”. This policy was

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initiated after the German football sector plunge and the professional league was being
overrun by foreigners. In response, the German football association set out to invest in the
creation of 390 development centers across the length and breadth of the country and also
employed about 1,000 technical personnel to run these centers. The German football
association also set up a national development facility to give extra training sessions for the
highly rated talents from these local development centers across the country. The football
association also made it a priority for all the professional clubs to operate academies before
they could participate in the professional league, Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2. These
academies served as stepping stone for the youth developed through the local development
centers and introduced to the professional league. Through this conscious effort the German
football developed and the professional clubs spent less on transfers. This has made the
German professional clubs run a healthy business model. The clubs are able to record profits
and also invest in their youth development centers. The crowning moment of this policy is
when the national team won the World Cup in 2014 (Honigstein, 2015).

Other top European countries like France, Netherlands, Italy, Spain etc. have implemented
such policies to churn out highly trained talents and this has also made their local
professional leagues highly developed and competitive. Recently, some African countries like
Algeria, Morocco, Egypt, Mali, Senegal etc. have realized the importance of laying down
policies in order to develop the football sector and gradually these efforts are paying
dividends as these countries continue to produce highly trained players and technical
personnel which have also contributed to the improvement in their local professional league
and national teams.

2.5 History of Football in Ghana

Football has been part of the social fabric of Ghana for over a century. The history of football
in Ghana can be traced to the early 1900s in Cape Coast, where a group of young students
decided to take up football from the sailors and educators who introduced the sport to the
coastal area. This led to the formation of the first club and gradually the nationwide spread of
the sport. The popularity of the sport after independence made it an appealing tool for
politicians to espouse their political ideals, thus football began to be fused with politics which
has led to the overt politicisation of football in Ghana. This section highlights the history of
football in Ghana from the formulation of clubs to the lining of politics and football.

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2.5.1 Formation of Clubs and Spread of Football in Ghana
History has it that in the year 1903, a group of students from the Government Boys school in
Cape Coast with support from their sport enthused headmaster, formed the first ever local
club in Ghana (Bediako, 2012). The team was named Excelsiors. The Governor then, Sir
Frederick Hodgson, was intrigued with the initiative of the young students, so he arranged for
the team to play a European sailor side (Bediako, 2012). Since there were no other local
clubs, Excelsior regularly played games with European sides. The exploits of Excelsiors
intrigued the Cape Coast youth and this inspired the next phase in football development in
Ghana, thus the formation of clubs in the town and subsequently outside the town.

Cape Coast had clubs such as Blankson’s XI, Bolton Wanderers, Energetics, Evertons,
Gardens, Judges, Majestics, Mysterious Dwarfs, Rose XI, Spart, Swallows, Titanics and
Venomous Vipers, formed (Bediako, 2012). Football began to spread along the coast of the
country with towns such as Elmina, Saltpond and Winneba also forming their teams. Football
continuing the trajectory along the coast reached Accra in 1910 and the locals began forming
teams such as the James Town Invincibles, Usher Town’s Accra Hearts of Oak, Excelsior
Club, Energetics, Never Miss, Royalists, Osu Pioneers, Standfast, Africs, Wolves and
Auroras (Bediako, 2012). The spread of football moved from the capital to the Western
Region, thus Sekondi-Takoradi in 1918. Teams such as Sekondi Eleven Wise, Western
Wanderers, Mosquitoes, Jerricho, Railway Apprentices, Ga United and Fanti United which
later got renamed to Sekondi Hasaacas (Bediako, 2012). After two decades since the first
club was formed in Ghana, football’s spread had reached the Ashanti Region, Kumasi.
Kumasi Evertons and Royals were the first clubs to be formed. These clubs were formed as
representation of the Catholic and Wesleyan (Methodist) church respectively. Later, Ashanti
United, the precursor to Asante Kotoko, was formed. Kumasi Cornerstones was also formed
(Bediako, 2012). From the Ashanti Region, football spread north bound and as it spread, it
inspired the formation of clubs. About 3 decades since the first local club was formed in Cape
Coast, football’s influence and spread was experienced across the country. This made football
very popular and subsequently the national pastime.

2.5.2 The formation of a National formation Association

The formation of clubs in the country being the first phase of football development in Ghana,
the next phase was the organisation of these clubs into a single body. Thus, since the
inception of football in Ghana, the organisation of football was on regional basis and centred
primarily in Cape Coast, Sekondi-Takoradi, Accra and Kumasi (Bediako, 2012). The 1940s

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represent the period of football organisation in Ghana, thus efforts to bring together these
separate regional bodies to form a central national association, the Gold Coast Football
Union, was made (Bediako, 2012; Pannenborg, 2012). However, the amalgamation of these
separate organisations into a centralised football body did not materialise as expected,
because the Accra association decided to split due to some misunderstandings (Bediako,
2012). The split resulted in the formation of a rival association called the Gold Coast and
Ashanti Union (Bediako, 2012). The government in 1950 charged the two associations to
merge before sponsoring the national team’s tour in the Great Britain in 1951. This influence
from the national team resulted in the formation of the United Gold Coast Amateur Football
Association on October 29, 1950 (Bediako, 2012). Although it seemed everything was good,
there were still issues of misunderstanding in the merger pertaining to leadership and
direction (Bediako, 2012). This internal power struggle was between Mr. Richard Akwei, the
head of the Gold Coast Football Union, and the leadership of the Gold Coast and Ashanti
Union (Bediako, 2012). This situation culminated with the resignation of Mr. Akwei as the
chairman of the national and Mr. Ohene Djan taking over the reigns as the next chairman of
the association (Bediako, 2012). Football organisation as an important aspect to football
development in Ghana, has always been riddled with crisis and misunderstanding. This
situation has plagued the development of the sport in the country.

2.5.3 The Organisation of a national football league

The formation of a national football association was a relevant initiative for the development
of football in Ghana. The national association was to propagate the interest of football in
Ghana. The first chairman of the United Gold Coast Amateur Football Association (later
Ghana Amateur Football Association), Mr. Richard Akwei, had a dream to organise the first
ever national league in the country (Bediako, 2012). However, the internal power struggles
within the United Gold Coast Amateur Football Association led to the failure of the Mr.
Akwei led administration to organise a national league in 1956 (Bediako, 2012). Mr. Ken
Harrison, honorary coach of Accra Hearts of Oak and the manager of R.E Harding & Co,
proposed the idea of national league to the chairman of the national football association
(Bediako, 2012). Efforts were put in place to organise the first league competition in 1956.
The proposed league comprised of 14 clubs who will play against each other for points and
the team with the most points at the end of the season will be crowned champions (Bediako,
2012). The 14 clubs were Accra Hearts of Oak, Accra Great Olympics, Accra Standfast,
Accra Great Argonauts, Cape Coast Venomous Vipers, Cape Coast Mysterious Dwarfs,

17 | P a g e
Sekondi Hasaacas, Sekondi Eleven Wise, Kumasi Asante Kotoko, Kumasi Cornerstone,
Kumasi Dynamos, Kumasi Evergreens, Obuasi Hearts of Oak and Obuasi Evertons (Bediako,
2012). In the early stages of the competition, Kumasi Asante Kotoko boycotted the
competition raising concerns over the organisation of the competition. Kotoko’s decision set
in motion a domino effect as 4 other Kumasi based clubs followed suit (Bediako, 2012).
Although Kotoko and the other Kumasi based clubs cited poor organisation as the reason for
their boycott, it is believed that the boycott was because of the internal power struggles
between the Ashanti Regional Football Association and the national body (Bediako, 2012).
The national body in response, suspended these clubs. The competition began with clubs
situated in the south but the internal struggles led to the Ashanti Regional Football
Association influencing other clubs such as Great Olympics, Standfast, Venomous Vipers,
Dwarfs, Sekondi Hasaacas to join the boycott (Bediako, 2012). This move from the Kumasi
based clubs backed by the Ashanti Regional Football Association disrupted the league and
the subsequent abandoning of the league (Bediako, 2012). Accra Hearts of Oak were declared
champions and Eleven Wise runners up since they were the only clubs left (Bediako, 2012).
This failure of the league was the concluding episode in the battle to oust Mr. Richard Akwei
as the chairman of the Ghana Amateur Football Association in 1957 (Bediako, 2012). In
1958, the first national league was formed under the auspices of Mr. Ohene-Djan as the
chairman of the Ghana Amateur Football Association (Bediako, 2012). The Ghana Amateur
Football Association organised the league with 8 top teams from Accra, Kumasi, Sekondi-
Takoradi and Cape Coast. These clubs were Hearts of Oak and Great Olympics (from Accra);
Asante Kotoko and Kumasi Cornerstones (from Kumasi); Sekondi Hasaacas and Sekondi
Eleven Wise (from Sekondi-Takoradi) and; Cape Coast Mysterious Dwarfs and Cape Coast
Venomous Vipers (from Cape Coast) (Bediako, 2012). Accra Hearts of Oak emerged the
eventual winners of the maiden National League (Bediako, 2012).

2.5.4 Professionalism in Ghana football

Although Professionalism was accepted outside the continent of Africa, the situation was the
opposite in Ghana and on the African continent. The concept was still foreign, but gradually
players were given remunerations for their services. This transformation meant football in
Ghana and in Africa in general had evolved into a semi-professional activity unofficially but
officially still remained amateur (Pannenborg, 2012). In 1993, the government of Ghana
through the ministry of sports decreed that all clubs be registered as a limited liability
company (Bediako, 2012; Ghana Football Association, 2020). This decree ushered in the era

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of professionalism in Ghanaian football. Organised football in Ghana had been in existence
for about 3 decades as an amateur competition. The ministry set up the Professional League
Board (PLB) to run the league since the league was now to be run professionally (Bediako,
2012; Ghana Football Association, 2020). The introduction of professionalism meant that
clubs activities were going to be more streamlined, thus these clubs were supposed to have
registered assets, a recognised and sustainable income sources, a well organised organogram
and a transparent expenditure (Bediako, 2012; Ghana Football Association, 2020). This was
to make sure the clubs were operating in an optimum fashion. However, since the
introduction of professionalism, most of the clubs are still lagging behind in the requirements
to be a professional club. This point is further buttressed by a FIFA report in 2016 which
pointed out that the Ghana Premier League had no professionally run club. Nevertheless, the
Ghana Football Association is committed to making sure that the clubs adhere to these
regulations although they have not been able to record that much success.

2.5.5 Political and Government Interest towards football and its development in Ghana
Football as a sport plays an integral role in the socio-cultural landscape of the country (Alegi,
2010; Bediako, 2012; Darby, 2013; Otoo, 2014). The euphoria that surrounds the sport of
football in the country makes it an ideal instrument for garnering support especially for
political parties and governments (Pannenborg, 2012; Pannenborg, 2010; Bediako, 2012;
Darby, 2013; Otoo, 2014). This has resulted in the direct intervention and influence of the
state in the football sector (Alegi, 2010; Darby, 2013; Pannenborg, 2012; Pannenborg, 2010).
However, this intervention is primarily focused on the national soccer teams, and in the case
of Ghana, the senior male soccer team (the Black Star) (Bediako, 2012; Baah-Nuakoh, 2013;
Darby, 2013; Pannenborg, 2012). Football’s potential as an instrument for nation-building
has been explored since the post-independence era. The government then, realised the
potential of football to further its socialist agenda (Baah-Nuakoh, 2013; Charway &
Houlihan, 2020; Darby, 2013; Otoo, 2014). The government of the republic provided
financial support for the national team and also paid special attention to the local football
scene. The interest culminated when the government formed a model club called the Real
Republikans (Baah-Nuakoh, 2013; Charway & Houlihan, 2020; Darby, 2013; Otoo, 2014).
However, this model club was operating under special circumstances, thus the club acted
under special dispensation contrary to the normal rules governing all the clubs. This situation
did not go down well with the other clubs. Real Republikans as a club was dissolved

19 | P a g e
immediately after the government was ousted through a military coup in 1966 (Baah-Nuakoh,
2013; Charway & Houlihan, 2020; Darby, 2013; Otoo, 2014).

After independence, governments in the country saw industrialisation as the key to

development. The governments then put in efforts to influence the growth of industries in the
1970s. The rise of the industries influenced the rise in the formation of company clubs (Baah-
Nuakoh, 2013; Pannenborg, 2012). These clubs employed and treated players as workers of
the company. These clubs were run more professionally than the traditional clubs and as such
were able to convince majority of the top talents (Pannenborg, 2012). This made the company
clubs mount strong challenges against the traditional clubs. These company clubs were not
able to be sustained as a result of the economic crisis that hit the country and the continent in
general (Pannenborg, 2012; Bediako, 2012; Baah-Nuakoh, 2013). The economic crisis led to
the introduction of the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) by the World Bank and the
International Monetary Fund in the 1980s. This programme required the country to privatise
most of the state-owned companies and resulted in the ceased funding and subsequent
collapse of the company clubs (Baah-Nuakoh, 2013).

The privatisation reform from the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) meant that
governments direct participation in club football in Ghana was suspended, but governments
still understood the power that the sport had and as such, continued to invest in the senior
male national teams (Baah-Nuakoh, 2013). The aim was to enhance the image of the
government through the international laurels the national teams were able to win (Darby,
2013; Bediako, 2012; Otoo, 2014). However, before the current Ghana Football Association
Statutes promulgated in 2006, the government still held a level of influence in the
organisation and running of the Ghana Football Association. The Government had two seats
on the 5-member management board of the Ghana Football Association, with one of them to
be chairman. The new statutes ensured that government’s influence in the affairs of football
was brought to minimum, thus, government became more of a donor with little stakes in the
affairs of football in the country (Baah-Nuakoh, 2013). FIFA realised that with a high-level
governmental influence, the Ghana Football Association was going to be plunged in
instability and ultimately affect the running of the game in the country. The new statutes
meant that Football Association was autonomous and as such any influence from the
government was unwelcomed and could attract sanctions from FIFA. This situation has
inadvertently drove a wedge between the government and the local clubs (Baah-Nuakoh,
2013). This can be attributed to the reason why the government focuses more on the activities

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of the national teams through the Football association, and focuses less or usually not on the
activities of the local clubs.

2.6 Conceptual Framework

Global football has undergone a transformation from a socio-cultural entity into a huge socio-
economic entity. The transformation of the sport can be attributed to the high attention that
the sport generates globally. Globally, the sport of football is followed by about 50% of the
population (Turner, 2007; Krabbenbos, 2013). Even though this figure might not be the actual
representation of the number of people who are enthused by the sport, it still means football
as a sport is the most popular on the planet. Advancements in the field of media and
broadcasting and its related technologies coupled with investment focused on the
improvement in the principal product of the sport, thus football matches, has contributed to
the popularisation of the sport (Bolotny & Bourg, 2006; Turner, 2007; Krabbenbos, 2013).
The popularity of the sport makes it an avenue rich in social capital which appeals to
governments, corporations and rich people (Pannenborg, 2012).

Consequently, the sport has been commercialised and its commercial appeal grows
exponentially as a result of the sports attractive potential, thus the social capital. the highly
commercialised nature of the sport has transformed the sport into the huge socio-economic
venture that it is today (Andrews & Harrington, 2016). The sport accounts for about 40% of
the global sports revenue. Thus, football is projected to generate an annual revenue of $33
billion out of the projected $80 billion annual sports revenue (Andrews & Harrington, 2016).

The sports transformation into a global socio-economic venture has made it an

unconventional sector that contributes immensely to national economic development
(McKinsey & Company, 2015, 2020). Countries such as England, Spain and Germany, to
name a few, have benefitted immensely from the contributions of football. The sport has been
able to contribute to the provision of employment for the citizens and also generates enough
taxable revenue which also induces other economic activities in these countries (Deloitte,
2020; Ernest and Young, 2019; McKinsey & Company, 2020; PricewaterhouseCoopers,
2018). However, these countries have been able to achieve this high level of influence from
the sport because these countries have developed the sport in their respect countries. This
implies that there exists a direct relationship between the development of football as a sector
and the economic impact the sport can have on the economy.

21 | P a g e
The development of the sport is an integral aspect to the transformation of the sport into a
socio-economic entity and the subsequent harnessing of the economic capacity of the sport.
The development of the sport requires a coordinated effort from the government, the Football
Association, the private sector and the media. Although these entities play a distinct but
mutually supportive role, the role of the government is paramount. This is because, the
government’s level of attention towards the sports sector will influence the overall direction
of the sector and the contributions from the other entities. The countries with highly
developed football sectors all have a strong government influence in the development of the
sport. In Ghana, the institutions which are considered for to be major stakeholders in football
are the Government and the Ghana Football Association (GFA) (Baah-Nuakoh, 2013).
However, the 2006 statutes that was promulgated by the Football Association has
inadvertently minimised the influence of the government in affairs of football (Baah-Nuakoh,
2013). This means the Football Association is an autonomous which runs football
independently. On paper, that is the situation but in reality, the Ghana Football Association
relies on the government for support (Baah-Nuakoh, 2013; Pannenborg, 2012; Pannenborg,
2010). The government on the other hand has focused all attention towards the national
teams, thus, the senior male national team (the Black Stars) ( Pannenborg, 2010; Bediako,
2012; Baah-Nuakoh, 2013; Pannenborg, 2012). Although this has been the norm since the
post-independence era, governments before the 2006 statutes had a certain level of influence
on the local football sector. This is to say, the actions of the FA to be autonomous has driven
a wedge between the two significant bodies that needs to work together to develop the local
sports sector (Baah-Nuakoh, 2013).

The above-mentioned situation in the local football sector coupled with the never-ending
internal power struggles and politics that exist within the Football Association have
contributed to the poor state of the football sector. The result is the football sector lagging
behind in the football world in areas such as facilities, technical people, technology,
organisation and management. The primary focus of this study is to assess the efforts of the
government, which is the principal organisation in the development of the sector, towards the
development of the local football sector and the economic impact the present football sector
has on the economy. The variables to be assessed in this study are the employment and
revenue generation capacity of the football sector and the political commitments of the last
two governments, the representations of those commitments in the national development plan
and the implementation of those commitments at the end of the administration.

22 | P a g e
23 | P a g e
 Football Sector
Development Developed football sector

Government and Best Football Developed local

Investment Improved national team
political Support Practices professional football
sector

Financial Developed local grassroots

Infrastructure
support football sector

Commercialised football
Economic Contribution to sector
the economy

Employment Revenue generation Figure 2.1: Conceptual framework

Source: Author’s construct, 2021

24 | P a g e
2.7 Summary of Chapter Two
The literature revealed that in recent times, football has grown into a huge socio-economic
venture with the capacity to influence development. Football’s transformation can be
attributed to the advent and development in broadcasting and media technologies coupled
with improvement in the quality of performance. Football changed from social to economic
venture stated with the introduction of professionalism. The literature also revealed that the
football sector contributed immensely to the economy of a country through employment and
revenue generation. Countries such as England, Germany and Spain have set the path for the
harnessing of the capacity of the football sector through the development of their football
sector.

The literature revealed that football in Ghana has been in existence for more than a century
while organised football has been in existence for about six decades. Football was introduced
by the British and the first team ever formed in Ghana was the Excelsiors. Football in Ghana
went through a couple of stages before it fully became a sector in the Ghanaian society. The
stages were, the spread of football and the formation of clubs, the formation of the Ghana
football association, the organisation of a club league competition, and the introduction of
professionalism in Ghana football. The literature also revealed that politics, since
independence, has seeped deeply in the Ghanaian football system. Politicians and the
government, being the highest stakeholder in football in Ghana, has influenced the
development and organisation of football in Ghana.

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 CHAPTER THREE

METHODOLOGY

3.1 Introduction
The research methodology of every research outlines the approach that the research adopted
in order to arrive at the findings at the end of the study. It makes the findings full proof and
impervious to doubts and questions. This chapter focuses on outlining the methods that will
be employed to successively achieve the objectives of the study. In this chapter, focus will be
placed on the profile of football in Ghana and the local professional football sector (Ghana
Premier League). Also, the processes and methods to be employed in data sources and
collection, analysis and presentation of the results and ethical considerations will be
discussed in this section.

3.2 Profile of Football in Ghana

The focus of this study is Football in Ghana. Football was introduced in Ghana by a British
priest called Reverend A.G Fraser in the early 1900s (Pannenborg, 2012). The first local club,
Excelsior, was formed in 1903 by a group of young Government School students backed by
their school head teacher in Cape Coast (Pannenborg, 2012; Bediako, 2012). It took 7 years
until another team, Invincibles, sprung up along the coast in Accra (Pannenborg, 2012;
Bediako, 2012). The spread of football in Ghana moved along the coast and gradually moved
inwards from the south to the northern part of the country. After about 2 decades, Football
had spread across the country (Pannenborg, 2012; Bediako, 2012).

The Spread of football and its popularity in Ghana led to the formation of a national football
association (Pannenborg, 2012; Bediako, 2012). The first attempt to unify all the regional
associations in the country ended in the formation of two distinct national associations, the
Gold Coast Football Union and the United Gold Coast and Ashanti Union (Bediako, 2012).
The government intervened in 1950 before the two associations merged to form the United
Gold Coast Amateur Football Association which was later renamed Ghana Amateur Football
Association (Bediako, 2012). This meant that Ghana was among the first few nations to in
Africa to form a national association (Pannenborg, 2012; Bediako, 2012).

After the formation of the national association, the leaders of the association decided to put in
efforts to start a national football league (Pannenborg, 2012; Bediako, 2012).. The first

26 | P a g e
attempt to start a national league was in 1956, but the competition was short lived as majority
of the clubs boycotted the league due to issues of organisation and the internal power struggle
that existed in the Ghana Amateur Football Association (Bediako, 2012). In 1958, there was a
change in leadership in the Ghana Amateur Football Association and this change finally
paved way for the organisation of the first national league in1958 (Bediako, 2012).

Football in Ghana since independence has been used as a political tool by governments
(Baah-Nuakoh, 2013; Darby, 2007, 2013; Otoo, 2014; Pannenborg, 2012; Pannenborg, 2010;
Bediako, 2012). The social capital in the sport provides a great avenue for governments to
polish their image in the eyes of the citizens (Pannenborg, 2012; Pannenborg, 2010; Charway
and Houlihan, 2020). Dr. Kwame Nkrumah was the first to realise the potential of the sport to
further his socialist cause in Ghana and in Africa (Baah-Nuakoh, 2013; Darby, 2013;
Pannenborg, 2012). The president invested heavily in the Gold Coast XI which was later
renamed the Black Stars. The success of the Black Stars provided a platform for the
government to preach its socialist ideals and polish its image (Baah-Nuakoh, 2013; Darby,
2013; Pannenborg, 2012). The Black Stars went on tours in Africa and chalked significant
success which translated to more social capital for the president. The Black Stars also won
the first two of its 4 African Cup of Nations during the administration of the Dr Kwame
Nkrumah. Since then, successive governments whether military or civilian, made sure that
the Black Stars succeeded in international tournaments as a way to gain support from the
people who held football in high esteem (Charway & Houlihan, 2020; Pannenborg, 2012).

3.3 Profile of the local professional league (Ghana Premier League, GPL)
The GPL is the top professional club football league in Ghana. The competition ranks top of
the professional football league structure in the country (African Sports Center, 2020; Ghana
Football Association, n.d.; Premier League Profile - Ghana Football Association, n.d.;
Bediako, 2012). According to African Sports Center (2020) survey report, the Ghana Premier
League ranks high among other professionally organised leagues in the West African sub-
region. The Ghana Premier League was officially formed in 1958 as an amateur league
(Bediako, 2012; ASC, 2020; Ghana Football Association, n.d.; Premier League Profile -
Ghana Football Association, n.d.). The competition became a fully recognised professionally
organised competition in the 1993 and the first Professional league season started in the
1993/94 league season (Bediako, 2012). The Ghana Premier League is organised by the
Ghana Football Association (GFA) and managed by the Premier League Management
Committee (Ghana Football Association, n.d.; Premier League Profile - Ghana Football

27 | P a g e
Association, n.d.). The current edition of the competition is the 58 th edition organised league
football in Ghana and the 27th professionally organised league football edition in Ghana with
the exception of the annulled 2017/18 and 2019/20 league season. The purpose of this study
is to investigate the Ghana Premier League and determine the state of the Premier League.
This study also looks to determine the factors that have contributed to the current state of the
football sector and how policies or the lack of it has affected the competition positively or
negatively.

The Ghana Premier league is among the pioneers of organised club league football in Africa.
However, after about half a century, the local club football sector has seen minimum growth
in overall performance, organisation, funding and infrastructure. The local club football
recorded early success and by the 1980s, the Ghana Premier league was among the top
African leagues as Ghanaian clubs like and Kotoko and Hearts won the coveted CAF
champions league. Asante Kotoko set the standard for excellence in club football in Ghana
and in Africa around the 1980s. From then, the local league began to go on a downward
trajectory. There has been a couple of successes recorded since then such as Accra Hearts of
Oak winning the inaugural CAF Confederations cup trophy in 2000.

3.4 Research Approach

In the field of social science, the issues have numerous causal agents which makes the use of
a single approach unsuitable as it raises questions about the validity and accuracy of the
findings (Fischer, 2006). Therefore, to address these numerous causes, social researchers
have resorted to the employment of multiple approaches to investigate these causes (Fischer,
2006). This multiple approach method termed as the “mixed method approach” has become
the third paradigm in the approaches to undertake social research. According to (Denscombe,
2008), the mixed method approach is a third paradigm for social enquiry that yield a credible
and distinctive alternative to the traditional qualitative and quantitative approach. Creswell &
Clark (2018) also define the mixed method approach as an approach to social enquiry that
employs two or more methods in undertaking a research study. Researchers Tashakori and
Tedllie (1998) also define the mixed method approach as ‘the mix or combination of both the
qualitative and quantitative approaches in a study’. The mixed method approach has risen to
prominence because according to Tashakori and Tedllie (2009), the approach provides an
unorthodox alternative approach to the use of the traditional quantitative and qualitative
approach. Based on the definitions above, the foundational principle of this approach is the
assumption that the combination of the strengths of both approaches in certain scenarios or

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situations will improve the depth and accuracy of the findings (Wisdom and Creswell, 2013;
Creswell, 2014; Creswell & Creswell, 2018; Denzin & Lincoln, 2018; Graff, 2017).
Researchers like (Creswell & Clark, 2018), (Creswell & Creswell, 2018), Wisdom and
Creswell (2013), Tashakori and Tedllie (1998; 2009), (Cronin et al., 2008), all argue that the
mixed method approach is useful in addressing the research questions of a social science
study. Thus, the mixed method approach allows the researcher to use an approach which is
more detailed than either approach alone.

Based on the definitions, assumption and argument for the mixed method approach above,
the mixed method approach is the most suitable approach for a study with numerous causal
agents. This study, “Football for fun or as a tool for economic development: An assessment
of government efforts on the development of football and the economic impact of the local
professional football sector (Ghana Premier League) on the economy” employed this
approach. The mixed method approach was employed to investigate the efforts of
government towards the development of the football sector and the impact of the local
professional football sector has on the economy. The qualitative aspect of the study focused
on answering the questions; How has the current disjointed and uncoordinated approach to
football development in Ghana contributed to the current football landscape; and What is the
extent of government and political promises towards football development in Ghana. The
quantitative aspect of the study focused on answering the question; What is the economic
contribution of the local professional football sector (Ghana Premier League) to the economy
of Ghana?

3.5 Source of Data, Data Collection and Analysis

The success of every research endeavour is based on the data collected, analysed and
interpreted. To achieve the objectives of this study, data would be collected, analysed and
presented to assess the efforts of government towards the development of football and the
economic contribution of the local professional football sector (Ghana Premier League) to the
economy. Secondary Data is the primary source of data that for this study.

Secondary data is the data gathered from other research works, surveys or experiments
conducted by other researchers. This data type includes publications or documents not
published, books, journals, online articles and academic articles on topics that relate to the
professional football sector and the recent growth in the sector. This academic work will

29 | P a g e
require secondary data from articles, books, government documents, to answer the questions
that the research pose.

Data collected in a research endeavour is required to be analysed in order to answer the

research questions. In this study, the data collected will be analysed based on the various
objectives of the research. Content analysis was the principal method of analysis employed
because most of the data were in qualitative form. The quantitative data gathered from
secondary sources on the other will be analysed and presented using tables.

3.6 Research Ethics

Due to the fundamental feature of every social science research endeavour, thus such studies
are people centred, many researchers such as (Creswell & Creswell, 2018), (Hesse-Biber,
2017), (Punch, 2005) argues that it is imperative to anticipate ethical issues that may arise
during the research process. (Punch, 2014) further buttresses this point by stating that
research is people focused. Thus, the success of every research is based on how the
researcher relates with people. Ethical considerations in research guides the researcher in the
data collection and analysis process to take into consideration any form of inconveniences
and discomforts that the respondents may suffer. According to (Israel & Hay, 2006) and
(Oliver, 2003), being ethically conscious in a research study builds strong trust between the
researcher and the respondents and also builds the integrity of the researcher. Since this
research is primarily secondary data focused, the researcher made sure that the authors or
publishers or the secondary materials that was consulted were cited appropriately in the text
and then referenced at the end of the study.

3.7 Limitations of the study

The unavailability of data and information from secondary sources proved to be the principal
area of limitations to this study. This is due to the fact there exist little research work on
football in Ghana. Getting documents that relate particularly to the objective of the study was
difficult. This is because although there exists some literature on football in Ghana, most of
them focused on the politics and football. Getting figures for the assessment of the economic
impact of football was difficult because there exist no secondary sources with such
information and also most Ghanaian clubs are discrete with such information. Also, getting
documents to serve as theoretical basis for analysis proved very difficult because of the lack
or inadequate academic research works. However, in dealing with the limitations of this
study, the study employed unconventional means such as observation, use of online football

30 | P a g e
articles and generalisations. Despite these limitations, the findings from this study are valid
and reveals the state of the football sector through the perspective of an academic study.

3.8 Summary of Chapter Three

This chapter of the study focused on the methodology employed to conduct this study. The
football sector, in general, and the local professional league (Ghana Premier League), were
the focus of this study. The study employed the mixed method approach with secondary data
as the primary source of data. The study employed comparative assessment analysis and
content analysis for the analysis of the data gathered. Tables were employed as the statistical
analysis tool for the organisation and presentation of information. This chapter also
highlighted the research ethics and limitations of the study.

31 | P a g e
32 | P a g e
 Research objectives
To comparatively assess
the football development
practices in Ghana as
against best international
practices
To assess the football
development political
promises outlined in the
manifestos of the two
previous governments
administrations
To assess the economic
contribution of the
football sector to the
economy principles of
Integrated
Table 3.1: Data sources, collection instruments and analysis technique
Source: Author’s construct, 2021
Variables Data sources Type of data Data analysis technique
 Investment Online articles Secondary data Comparative assessment
 Grassroots development analysis
 Coach and Technical Thematic analysis
Personnel development
 Philosophy and Plan
formulation
 Infrastructure Investment  2012 NDC Secondary Content analysis
 Grassroot and technical Manifesto Thematic analysis
personnel development  2016 NDC
 Financial support Manifesto
 Management structures  Online articles
 Employment Online sources Secondary data Content Analysis
 Revenue generation
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34 | P a g e
 CHAPTER FOUR

ANALYSIS

4.1 Introduction
This chapter of the study looks at the analysis of the data gathered. The data analysed were
based on the three objectives of the study, i.e., the comparative assessment of Ghana’s
football development practices with best international practices; assessing the football
development political promises outlined in the manifestos of the two previous governments
administrations (2013-2017 and 2017-2021); and the assessment of the economic
contribution of the football sector to the economy. For a more comprehensive analysis of the
study, sub-themes were generated such as Strategic investment; Development of the
grassroots; Development of technical personnel; and the formulation of a football policy, for
the comparative assessment; Provision of Infrastructure, Management Structures, Financial
Support, and Grassroot Development, for the assessment of the football development political
promises outlined in the manifestos of the two previous governments administrations (2013-
2017 and 2017-2021); and the employment and revenue generation capacity of the Ghana
Premier League.

4.2 Comparative assessment of Ghana’s football development practices with best

international practices
Football in Ghana is without a doubt the most popular sport in the country (Pannenborg,
2010). The sport provides a strong avenue to create an atmosphere that is conducive to instil
national pride (Baah-Nuakoh, 2013; Darby, 2013; Otoo, 2014). This is because the sport
transcends political, social and economic lines. However, since independence, the level of
development of football in Ghana has been a cause for concern. This is because, Ghana is
perceived as one of the football giants in African football as evidenced by the country’s 4
triumphs in the African Cup of Nations, which is the premier international tournament on the
continent (Esson, 2016). Also, there exist a history of Ghanaian players playing in top
football teams outside the continent of Africa (Esson, 2016; Pannenborg, 2012; Pannenborg,
2010).

To assess the football development practices in Ghana, a comparative assessment of best

international practices from England, Germany, France and Morocco were used to compare
with football development practices in Ghana. The comparative assessment coupled with
thematic analysis led to the generation of a set of themes. These themes include; Strategic

35 | P a g e
investment; Development of the grassroots; Development of technical personnel; and the
formulation of a football policy.

4.2.1 Investment in Football

The football sector is propelled through investment from governments, corporate entities and
private individuals (Pifer et al., 2018). The investment from the government plays a critical
role in the development of football in any country (Sienu, 2021). This means that to develop
the football sector is dependent on investments such as infrastructure investment or financial
support from the government. However, there exist evidence that investment in football in
developed countries is higher than in developing countries, because these countries do not
prioritize the development of football (Chappelet & IDHEAP Swiss Graduate School of
Public Administration, 2010). Observing the football development practices of some top
football countries such as Germany, England, France and Morocco, it was realised that these
countries aim to take their football to the next step through adequate investment or has
already been reaping the benefits of their investment. For instance, In the case of Morocco, a
country trying to get to the top level of football, has decided to invest in the development of
their football by creating the biggest football centre in Africa, The Mohammed XI football
centre. This football centre which was commissioned in 2019, features various state of the art
facilities such as a variety of pitches, sports science laboratories and rooms to serve as the
hosting grounds for the national teams, among others. England also recently opened the Saint
George’s Park as the national sports centre in 2012. The English aim to make the Saint
George’s Park the centre of excellence for football development and education. With this in
mind, the English built Saint George’s Park to feature a host of football development and
education facilities such as 12 pitches, coaches training centre, football science laboratory,
among others. and also serve as the hosting grounds for all the national teams. The Germans
on the other hand strategically invested in creating a wide scouting network and 300 sports
centres across the country in 2000. The Germans also employed 1,300 technical personnel
with a UEFA licence B certificate to work at the sports centres as development coaches and
scouts. The Germans also created a coaching centre called, Fussball-lehrer (Football
Education) to train the next generation of German coaches. Lastly, the French also invested in
the creation of 13 academies across the country in 1985. The main one being the INF
Clairefontaine in Paris. This centre also serves as the hosting grounds for the national teams
in addition to its primary role of developing the next generation of football talent.
Clairefontaine features a host of state-of-the-art facilities for the development of talent. The

36 | P a g e
implication is that the investments made by these countries have led to the development of
their football sector. For instance, the German’s investment resulted in the national team’s
improved performance and culminated in 2014 when the national team won the world cup.
The investment also saw the increase in the number of local professional players in the league
and subsequently the improvement of the Bundesliga.

Investment in Ghana football since independence has been poor. The local football sector
lacks a number of facilities such as a football development centre equipped with a sport
science laboratory, various training pitches, among others, that can positively influence the
development of football in Ghana as a result of a lack of adequate investment (Sienu, 2021).
According to (Kakonge, 2016), the facilities that exist in most African countries are also in
deplorable states. Whereas countries such as England, Germany, France and Morocco have
made adequate investments to develop their football sector through the provision of a state-
of-the art football development centres, Ghana on the other hand has lagged behind in the
provision of these facilities to improve the development of football (Esson, 2016; Sienu,
2021). For instance, England invested £100 million to construct the 330-acre Saint George’s
Park in 2012. The Saint George’s Park features 13 pitches, a sport rehabilitation centre, a
sports science centre, a coaching education centre, a 25 square feet medical centre,
accommodation for all the national teams, among others (How St George’s Park Has Become
“the Oxford and Cambridge of English Football” – The Athletic, n.d.; How St George’s Park
Is Helping England to Euro 2020 Glory | East Anglian Daily Times, n.d.; Jenas, 2017).
Morocco also invested MAD 630 million ($70 million based on current rate) to renovate the
King Mohammed VI Football Complex, which was previously the National Maamoura
Football Centre. The 29.3-acre football complex features 9 pitches, re-training room, a high
performance and sports medicine centre, accommodation for all the national teams, among
others (King Mohammed VI Inaugurates Renovated Football Center Near Rabat, n.d.;
Morocco Unveils Refurbished US $65m Football Facility, n.d.; New Mohammed VI Football
Complex Inaugurated in Salé | The North Africa Post, n.d.). In the case of Ghana, much
cannot be said about the Ghanaman Soccer Centre of Excellence, which is the national
football centre. Unlike the Saint George’s Park and King Mohammed VI Football Complex
in England and Morocco respectively, the poor state of the Ghanaman Soccer Centre of
Excellence makes it an unsuitable location for the national teams to prepare for international
tournaments. The implication is that the Black Stars travel outside the country to places such
as Dubai to prepare for international tournaments which comes as a cost to the nation.

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Figure 4.1: The Saint George’s Park Figure
4.2: King Mohammed VI Football
Source: The FA, 2021 Source: The construction Review, 2021

Figure 4.3: Ghanaman soccer center

Source: CitiSportsonline, 2020

4.2.2 Development of grassroots

The development of football and its related success in every country is heavily dependent on
the sector having a constant supply of talents. This point is further buttressed by the assertion
of (Pifer et al., 2018), that the football sector is sustained through the constant supply of a
diverse array of talents at the grassroots. This makes the development of the grassroots an
important factor or condition to the overall development of the football sector.

Grassroots development in Ghana faces numerous challenges even though the country has
endless supply of talented youth spread across the length and breadth of the country with the
dream and willingness to go through a lot of difficulties to become professional players
(Esson, 2016). This drive to become a professional player is attributed to the lucrative nature
of football in recent times. This is to say football provides a path for the youth to escape from
the high unemployment and poverty situation in the country (Esson, 2016). However, due to
the difficulty being faced by grassroots development which can be attributed to the failure on
the part of the government and the Ghana football association, most of these talents do not
make it (Esson, 2016; FootballGhana, 2019). Developed countries such as Germany and

38 | P a g e
France have been successful because of their talent development model. For instance,
Germany scouts 650,000 young talents each year through their extensive scouting network
and football centres across the country (The Recipe for Success: The Plan behind Germany’s
Domination of World Football | Bundesliga, 2017). The Germans aim to make sure that no
single talent falls through the crack without them spotting such talent. France’s football
academies on the other hand take in 13–15-year-olds from the region that the academy is
situated (Tejwani, 2018). The academy takes these young talents through meticulous training
and development to prepare them for life as a professional player (Tejwani, 2018). The
implication of this is that these countries have endless supply of young talents to feed their
national team and local professional clubs. For instance, the German football sector was
declining until the country implemented their talent scouting and development model. This
model made it compulsory for every Bundesliga club to have an academy. These club
academies serve as the next chapter in the development of the young players and it
culminates in the clubs providing the young player the opportunity to play in the first team
(The Recipe for Success: The Plan behind Germany’s Domination of World Football |
Bundesliga, 2017). This led to the revival of the German football sector as the national team
won the 2014 world cup and the Bundesliga becoming one of the best leagues in the world. In
the case of Ghana, talent development is fraught with a plethora of challenges such as lack of
facilities, financial support, among others. There is no single national talent development
centre, however, there has been a considerable increase in the private sector involvement in
talent development in Ghana recently. In most African countries, there is the situation of
inadequate infrastructure to facilitate the development of the grassroots (Darby et al., 2007;
Kakonge, 2016). For instance, the West African Football Academy (WAFA) and Cheetah
FC, to name a few, are among the privately owned talent development centres in Ghana. The
preceding implies that talent development in Ghana is underdeveloped and disjointed, which
provides the opportunity for the private entities and individuals to take advantage of the
teeming youth aiming to make a career as a professional footballer and the subsequent exodus
of the Ghanaian youth.

4.2.3 Coaches and technical personnel development

In the sport of football, just like every other sport, performance is a relevant concept. The aim
to achieve top performance and results on the pitch requires the best of preparations of the
talents. The level of preparations of the talent translates to the quality of coaches and
technical personnel available (Bobato Tozetto et al., 2019). This is to say, although

39 | P a g e
developing the grassroots is important, another important aspect is the development of the
coaches and technical personnel. These two aspects are mutually related, because to be able
to polish the talent of a young player and achieve top performance on the field, it is
imperative to have good coaches and technical personnel. These coaches and technical
personnel play a very crucial role from developing the grassroots to guiding these talents
when they are fully developed into professionals. This makes it important to put in efforts to
develop the coaches and technical personnel as well as developing the grassroots (Bobato
Tozetto et al., 2019).

With respect to the development of coaches and technical personnel, the prospective youth
willing to go into the field of technical personnel and coaching do not have access to
adequate educational facility in Ghana. The only form of technical personnel training is the
FA organised coaching course. The government in recent times has stated that it prefers a
local coach for the senior national team (Appiah, 2021), however, there exist not enough
quality technical personnel to work in that position. The implication is that most of the talent
end up underdeveloped. Which has translated to the poor quality in the performance of the
local clubs and the national teams (Blame Coaches, Poor Facilities for Underdevelopment of
Ghanaian Talents - Top Football Scout, 2015; Tagoe & Anyaba, 2021). Top football
countries such as Germany has a specific technical training facility called “Fussball-Lehrer”,
which translates to Football Education, to develop 25 prospective technical personnel into
highly trained and skilled technical personnel (2020: A Stellar Year for German Coaches |
Sports | German Football and Major International Sports News | DW | 31.12.2020, 2020).
This has resulted in the rise of German technical personnel as the best technical personnel in
the world. The German football association is also planning to build a state-of-the-art
academy to develop even more highly skilled technical personnel (The DFB′s New Academy
Project: The ′Silicon Valley′ of Football | Sports | German Football and Major International
Sports News | DW | 08.12.2017, n.d.). However, in the case of Ghana, coaches and technical
personnel development faces a plethora of challenges. The only national technical
development centre, the National Sports College, Winneba, is in a deplorable state and in dire
need of renovations. Nonetheless, the Sports College still functions albeit not in its full
capacity. The preceding implies that there will be an increase in the number of foreign
coaches and technical personnel in the local football sector and the national teams, especially
the senior national (Black Stars), because the local technical personnel do not possess the
quality to rival their foreign counterparts.

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4.2.4 Formulation and implementation of a football policy and philosophy
Football philosophy loosely relates to the way a team or a country approaches football. The
philosophy of every football nation is directly influenced by the core ideals and principles of
the people or society (Clapham, 2018; English Football Mentality - Elite Soccer, n.d.). This is
to say, football represents a microcosm of the society (Kyle, 2015). The football philosophy
talks about the culture and values, the playing style, the talent identification and development
models, the coaching and learning models and the performance support (The FA, 2019). This
means a well formulated and defined football philosophy can serve as the guidelines or
blueprint for the success of a football nation (English Football Mentality - Elite Soccer, n.d.).
A well-defined football philosophy creates a conducive atmosphere for the formulation of
strategic football policy that guides the national agenda for football development. However, it
is the responsibility of the national football federation to develop a philosophy that creates a
policy to guide the development of the football sector (The FA, 2019). A critical assessment
of countries that have developed their football sector such as Germany, France and England,
reveal that these countries have a tailored football philosophy and policy that serves as the
blueprint for the overall development of their football.

For instance, the German football philosophy focuses on developing the youth and using their
local professional league (Bundesliga) to provide an opportunity for promoting the young
players and developing them further into high quality professionals. This means the local
professional clubs look within their system for the next talent if they want to replace an
outgoing talent before looking at the foreign markets. As evidence, the Bundesliga have 45%
homegrown talents, which is the highest among the top 5 leagues in the world (10 Reasons
Germany Are Football’s Greatest Force | Bundesliga, n.d.; Clapham, 2018). The implication
is that the German clubs run an economically viable business model which means that
economically, the Bundesliga is one of the best well organised leagues in the world.

However, in the case of Ghana, there exist no trace of a distinct philosophy or policy to guide
football development. The last time the country had such a plan was when Mr. Ben Kwoffie,
then chairman of the GFA, launched a 5-year development plan. This plan focused on
developing the youth and the results was the country’s first qualification to the world cup in
2006 (Five-Year Soccer Development Launched in Sunyani, n.d.). Those talents developed
through the 5-year plan served as the core of the national team for a long time till those
players retired from football. This implies that the approach to football in Ghana has been
disjointed and uncoordinated. Which means that there exists no plan of transition for the

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youth to the senior teams, no specific playing style, no model for talent identification and
development, and the lack of technology in the football system. This has resulted in the over
reliance on foreign imports of players and coaches. It has also contributed to the local game
lagging behind in the scientific revolution in football, making the local football sector more
of an art.

4.3 Assessing the football development political promises outlined in the manifestos of
the two previous governments administrations (2013-2017 and 2017-2021)
Football and politics are intrinsically linked and in African football, this relationship is more
outspoken (Pannenborg, 2012; Pannenborg, 2010). Although the Federation of International
Football Association (FIFA) and the Confederation of African Football (CAF) has registered
its displeasure to the mixing of football and politics, African politicians still play a critical
role and have enormous influence in the affairs of football (Darby, 2007; Pannenborg, 2010,
2012). Football in Ghana is and has always been a highly politicised social event. This is
because the popularity of football makes it an avenue for politicians to gain favour and
support from the constituents (Darby, 2013; Pannenborg, 2010, 2012). This section of the
study analyses how football development has featured in the manifestos of politicians in the
last two government administration, the implementation of such promises, and its implication
on football development. This analysis employed content and thematic analysis approach to
understand how political parties and their successive governments have influence football
development in Ghana. The data for the analysis was sourced from the manifestos of the two
political parties (National Democratic Congress, 2012 and New Patriotic Party, 2016). The
themes for the assessment were; Provision of Infrastructure; Management Structures;
Financial Support; and Grassroot Development. The table 4.1 below contains the political
promises of the last two government administration outlined in their manifestos.

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Table 4.1: Football development related political promises
Numbe NDC Football development NPP Football development Manifesto
r Manifesto Promise (2012) Promise (2016)
1 Support for the various national teams Enact the sports bill
2 Supporting MMDAs to provide sports Provide youth development & sports
infrastructure in every district centres across each region
3 Revitalisation of the inter-school and Completion of the University of Ghana
colleges programme stadium
4 Admissions to senior high schools for Provision of stadia to regions without one
talented students
5 Completion of the Cape Coast sports Establish three sports colleges
stadium
6 Provision of stadia to regions without
one
7 Restructuring of the NSA
8 Provision of 20 community and
institutional multipurpose sports
infrastructure
9 Employ qualified technical staff as
District Sports Officers
Source: Author’s construct, 2021

4.3.1 Provision of Infrastructure

Government investment in football infrastructure plays a critical role in the development of
the football sector (Darby et al., 2007; Pannenborg, 2010; Sienu, 2021). Football
infrastructure such as stadia, training and education facilities, among others, is relevant to the
development of the football sector (Pannenborg, 2010). Evidence from the developed
countries such as England, Germany, Morocco and South Africa, among others, reveal that
football infrastructure is relevant to the development of football. However, Ghana’s football
infrastructure is significantly inadequate (Esson, 2016; Pannenborg, 2010, 2012). The
significant investment in infrastructure recorded in recent times in Ghana has been the
improvement of the stadia for the hosting of the African Cup of Nations 2008 (AFCON 2008)
(Ghana - An Apology of a Footballing Nation Lived under a Hoax., 2021). Most top football
African countries such as Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, South Africa, Egypt, among others, all
have international standard facilities to host major international tournaments (Ghana - An

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Apology of a Footballing Nation Lived under a Hoax., 2021). The inadequate infrastructure
situation has been one of the major campaigns promises in the manifestos of every past
government prior to their elections. Nonetheless, at the end of their period in government, the
football infrastructure situation in the country still remains the same with occasional
improvements. An assessment of the manifestos of the two previous governments between
the period of 2013-2017 and 2017-2021 prior to their elections into power, revealed that the
football sector faces the issues of inadequate infrastructure. However, at the end of the tenure
of these two governments, the only improvement in the Ghanaian football infrastructure has
been the completion of the cape coast sports stadium and the provision of football centres in
each region, with only one of such centres being commissioned. The preceding implies that
the country is still lagging behind in the provision of infrastructure. Which means that the
teeming grassroot talents do not have access to the requisite facilities to ensure the
development of young talents. Also, it means that the country still does not have enough
standardized and state-of-the-art facilities to host major international games and tournaments.
The local professional clubs do not have access to standardized facilities which contributes to
the increasing cases of stadium violence in the local professional league. The country lacks a
state-of-the-art sports health centre to promulgate and promote science in football.

4.3.2 Management Structures

The football sector presents an alternative approach to economic growth and development
(Wang & Wang, 2010). This makes it relevant for the government to clearly define its role in
developing the sector in order to harness its capacity (Wang & Wang, 2010). The
development of the football sector requires the combined efforts from the public sector
(government), corporate entities (private sector) and voluntary organisations (Hallmann et al.,
2017). These three major stakeholders perform distinct but mutually supportive functions in
the development of the football sector (Hallmann et al., 2017) . Nonetheless, the government
is perceived as having the highest stake in the development of the football sector and such
influences the development significantly (Pujari, 2017). The government performs the critical
functions of formulating football development policies, provision of infrastructure,
developing the next generation of talent, and providing regulations that guides the
organisation of football (Pujari, 2017). However, the government performs these functions
through the establishment of management frameworks/structures such as the national sports
organisations and legislative instruments (Charway & Houlihan, 2020; Pujari, 2017). The
existence and strength of these structures creates the environment that supports the other

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stakeholders’ involvement in football development (Charway & Houlihan, 2020; Pujari,
2017). In the Ghanaian sports scene, successive governments since independence have made
efforts to provide these structures and also made reforms to strengthen them (Charway &
Houlihan, 2020). However, the management structures in the Ghanaian football sector faces a
plethora of challenges and as such, have informed the manifesto promises of the previous two
governments administrations. An assessment of the manifestos of the two previous
governments between the period 2013-2017 and 2017-2021 prior to their elections revealed
that the Ghanaian football sector requires the requisite management structures to guide its
development through the enactment of the sports bill and the reformations of the national
sport authority. Nonetheless, at the end of the tenure of these two government
administrations, the sports bill has been enacted and the national sports authority has been
restructured. The preceding implies that the Ghanaian football sector and sports sector in
general have management structures that complies with international standards. Which means
there exists a clearly defined structure that defines the role of government in the development
of the football sector through the provision of facilities, youth development, and regulations
for football management among others.

4.3.3 Financial Support

The government of every country is perceived as the highest stakeholder in the football sector
and its development (Pujari, 2017). This means the government influence the development of
the football sector through the provision of facilities, financial support, and regulatory
frameworks, among others (Pujari, 2017). Although governments support the development of
football through diverse ways, the provision of financial support is one of the most significant
approach that governments employ. The football sector although at the core is a social event,
it has taken up economic properties in recent times. To be able to harness the economic
capacity of the sector requires investment in the form of financial support to develop the
sector (Chappelet & IDHEAP Swiss Graduate School of Public Administration, 2010;
Clapham, 2018; Ghana - An Apology of a Footballing Nation Lived under a Hoax., 2021;
Government Investing in Football Development; a Responsibility Not a Favour, n.d.; Wang
& Wang, 2010). For instance, the English government in 1991 provided a sum of £200
million to help develop the local professional league. The German government on the other
hand made available about $1 billion to the football sector to see to the development of the
football sector through their talent and technical training programmes(Prof. Wallace Writes:
The Role of Governments in Football - MyJoyOnline.Com, 2019; Sienu, 2021). Ghana’s

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football sector on the hand has received financial supports from successive governments
since independence. However, these financial supports have been biased towards the senior
male national team (Black Stars) (Charway & Houlihan, 2020; Darby, 2013; Pannenborg,
2010, 2012). This is because the success of the Black Stars in international tournaments
reflects positively on the image of the government (Charway & Houlihan, 2020; Darby,
2013; Pannenborg, 2010, 2012). In view of this, successive governments have focused
attention to the success of the Black Stars by providing massive financial support to the
national team (Charway & Houlihan, 2020). An assessment of the manifestos of the two
previous governments between the period of 2013-2017 and 2017-2021, reveals that the
political ambitions of the governments to provide financial support for the national teams. At
the end of the tenure of these two previous government administrations, the country had
provided about $25 million as financial support to the Black Stars to only fund their AFCON
campaign between the period 2012-2019(The $25 Million Problem: A Look at Past Expenses
and Earnings of Black Stars - MyJoyOnline.Com, 2021). The preceding implies that
successive governments in Ghana regard the image of the Black Stars success as the centre
piece to “football development and excellence” (Charway & Houlihan, 2020). Which means
that the government focuses its attention on the Black Stars which is detrimental to their
overall development of the football sector. It also means that the poor level of the local
football sector leads to the increasing exodus of talents from the country (Esson, 2016) which
affects the quality of on field performance and subsequently the status of the local
professional league on the African continent. The excessive exodus of talents also affects the
growth and success of the national teams (Esson, 2016).

4.3.4 Grassroot Development

The football sector at the core is kept in motion by the constant supply of diverse array of
talents at the grassroots (Pifer et al., 2018). This makes it relevant for the development of
these talents at the grassroots. Globally, countries that have reached the pinnacle of football
success have been able to achieve such successes through the development of their grassroots
(Clapham, 2018; FEATURE: Ghana’s Failure in Youth Football: The Growth We Need -
Ghana Latest Football News, Live Scores, Results - GHANAsoccernet, n.d.; Ghana - An
Apology of a Footballing Nation Lived under a Hoax., 2021; Government Investing in
Football Development; a Responsibility Not a Favour, n.d.; The Recipe for Success: The
Plan behind Germany’s Domination of World Football | Bundesliga, 2017; Honigstein, 2015;
Kakonge, 2016; Pujari, 2017; Tejwani, 2018; The FA, 2019). The development of the

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grassroots requires the existence of adequate facilities such as training pitches, talent-based
educational facilities, among others. For instance, the German football sector in recent times
has experienced in steady rise to prominence in the world of football as a result of the
strategic efforts by the government and the Deutcher Fuss-ball Bund (DFB) to develop the
grassroots. This resulted in the training of numerous talents that serve as a constant supply to
the football sector (Clapham, 2018; Honigstein, 2015). However, in the case of Ghana, talent
identification and development are fraught with a plethora of challenges, chief among them
are the lack of adequate facilities, lack of a talent-based educational system and facilities, and
lack of financial support (Againsttherunofplay, 2018; Charway & Houlihan, 2020; Darby et
al., 2007; Esson, 2016; FEATURE: Ghana’s Failure in Youth Football: The Growth We
Need - Ghana Latest Football News, Live Scores, Results - GHANAsoccernet, n.d.; Ghana -
An Apology of a Footballing Nation Lived under a Hoax., 2021; FootballGhana, 2019;
Kakonge, 2016; Pannengorg, 2010; Esson, 2016). This has provided the opportunity for the
profit-driven privateers to take advantage of the huge talent base in the country and has
subsequently resulted in most of these talents being taken advantage off in their quest to
become professional footballers to circumvent the growing unemployment and
underemployment situation (Darby et al., 2007; Esson, 2013, 2016). In view of this,
governments have made promises to provide the requisite support to curb the situation.
However, at the end of their tenure, the situation still remains the same. An assessment of the
two previous governments manifestos prior to their elections into government reveals that
these governments recognised the need for talent development and as such outlined promises
such as the establishment of sports colleges, employing quality technical personnel, among
others, in their manifestos to deal with the situation. Nevertheless, at the end of their tenure,
these governments have not been able to implement any of their manifesto promises. This
implies that the country is losing out on quality talented youth, because of the lack of
facilities to develop such talents. Which means the supply of talent to keep the local football
sector running of subsequently the national team. It also means that the unemployment
situation continues to rise as the underdeveloped talent development system does not provide
the opportunity for the teeming prospective youth. This further means that the country will
not be able to harness the capacity of the football sector.

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4.4 Assessment of the economic contribution of the football sector to the economy
The sport of football in recent times have morphed into a global socio-economic venture. The
sport’s transformation in recent times has made it an unconventional driver of economic
development (McKinsey & Company, 2015, 2020). Football’s potential to contribute to
development has been explored in countries like England, Spain, Germany, among others
(Deloitte, 2020; Ernest and Young, 2019; McKinsey & Company, 2020;
PricewaterhouseCoopers, 2018). These countries have been able to harness the economic
capacity of football because they have been able to develop football in the country. This
shows that there exists a relationship between developing the local football sector and
harnessing the economic capacity of the sport. This section of the study assesses the
economic contribution of the football sector to the economy of Ghana. This analysis
employed a mixed content analysis to assess the economic impact of the Ghana Premier
League. The data for the analysis was sourced from the Ghana Football Association. The
focus of the assessment was on employment and revenue generation.

4.4.1 Employment
Employment issues in Ghana has been prevalent in Ghana for a long time. The
unemployment rate in Ghana has been low over the years. The youth experience the highest
rate of unemployment in the country. According to (Dadzie et al., 2020), youth
unemployment stands at 12% while 50% are underemployed. This figure is believed to be
ranking higher among the overall unemployment rates in countries in the Sub-Saharan region
(Dadzie et al., 2020). The report identifies sports as one of the key areas that can contribute to
reducing the growing unemployment and underemployment situation in Ghana. Football as a
sport in Ghana is the most the popular. Its transformation in recent times as a huge global
socio-economic venture makes it a vehicle for employment. Ghanaian youths now perceive
football as a way to circumvent this deep-rooted unemployment situation in the country. This
section of the analysis investigates the impact of the local professional league (Ghana
Premier League) has on employment based on the current football landscape. The focus of
the analysis was on the 18 premier league clubs and the number of people they employ
directly. The table below shows the number of people the 18 Ghana Premier Leagues clubs
directly employs.

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Table 4.2: The number of people employed by the 18 Ghana Premier League clubs
Personnel Average Total
Professional Players 30 540
Management members 8 144
Technical members 7 126
Team staff 10 180
990
Source: Author’s own construct, 2021

From the table above, the 18 Ghana Premier League clubs are required to register on average
30 professional footballers per club. This means there are 540 professional footballers under
contract in the Ghana Premier League. The clubs also employ on average 7 technical
members each, thus 126 technical persons work in the Ghana Premier league either on full-
time or part-time basis. The clubs also employ on average 8 management members to form
their respective management board members. This means a total of 144 management team
members are employed in the Ghana Premier League. Finally, the clubs employ on average
10 team staff members each. This means the 18 clubs employ a total of 180 team staff. This
means in total; the Ghana Premier League directly employs about 990 professionals across
the 18 professional clubs. As compared to the top leagues in the world such as the English
Premier League which provides an employment for about 12,400 people directly by the clubs
(Ernest and Young, 2019), the German Bundesliga which provides about 21,000 people with
direct employment by the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 clubs (McKinsey & Company, 2020),
or the otherwise less popular leagues in Europe such as the Belgian Pro League which
provides 1,836 people directly (Deloitte, 2020), the Ghana Premier league is a small league.
Although the Ghana Premier League figures are not that significant compared to the big
leagues in the world, it makes about half an impact the Belgian Pro League does through
direct employment. One thing in common with these national leagues is that the
corresponding countries have developed their football sector. This is evident that if the
Ghanaian football is developed, it is going to influence the level of impact the national
premier club competition (The Ghana Premier League) will have on the economy through
direct employment creation and subsequently indirect employment generation. This implies
that the football sector has the potential to contribute reducing the ever-prevalent
unemployment issues that Ghana faces.

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4.4.2 Revenue Generation
Football is steadily transforming from a leisure activity into a socio-economic industry in
recent times. This makes the sector an unconventional vehicle for development. This is to say
football has the potential to contribute to the overall revenue generated in a country and
induce economic activities that indirectly benefits the country through taxes and value
addition. To harness this capacity of football, countries such as England, Germany, among
others, have developed their football sector. And the benefits these countries have derived
from football is immense. This section of the analyses looks at the revenue generation
capacity of the local professional league (Ghana Premier League). The focus of the analysis
was on the Ghana Premier League as a body. Table 4.3 shows the revenue from the media
and broadcasting rights deal of the Ghana Premier League.

Table 4.3: The revenue generating capacity of the Ghana Premier League
Season Ghana Premier FA Cup Division One Total
League League and
Women’s
League
2019/20 $700,000 $150,000 $100,000 $950,000
2020//21 $750,000 $200,000 $50,000 $1,000,000
2021/22 $850,000 $200,000 $50,000 $1,100,000
2022/23 $850,000 $200,000 $50,000 $1,100,000
2023/24 $850,000 $250,000 $50,000 $1,150,000
$5,250,000
Source: Ghana Football Association, 2019

From the table above, the Ghana Premier League sold broadcast rights to StarTimes Ghana.
The deal will span for 5 years and it is worth $5,250,000 (Ghana Football Association, 2020c,
2020a, 2020b; Quao, 2020). The components of the deal consist of the Ghana Premier
League, the MTN FA Cup, the Women’s League and Division One League. The Ghana
Premier League being the top league in the country and the focus of this study takes 76% of
the total amount from the broadcast rights deal, thus, $4,000,000 (Ghana Football
Association, 2020a, 2020b). This figure will be spread over the 5 years period of the
broadcast deal. As compared to other professional leagues such as the English Premier
League which generates about €3.5 billion in broadcast rights deal (Deloitte, 2020), the
German Bundesliga which generates about €1.5 billion in broadcast rights deal (Deloitte,
2020), or the otherwise less popular leagues like the Belgian Pro League which generates
about €140m in broadcast rights deal (Deloitte, 2020), and the Polish Ekstraklasa which

50 | P a g e
generates about €39m in broadcast rights deal (Deloitte, 2020), the Ghana Premier League
generates less revenue through the broadcast deals. These other professional leagues also
have other sources that complements the amount generated from the broadcast rights deals,
but the Ghana Premier League does not. This means that the StarTimes broadcast rights deal
is the principal source of revenue for the Ghana Football Association to fund the Ghana
Premier League. One thing in common with these national leagues is that the corresponding
countries have developed their football sector, although some are more developed than the
others. This is evident that if the Ghanaian football is developed, it is going to influence the
level of impact the national premier club competition (The Ghana Premier League) will have
on the economy through revenue generation and subsequently induce spending from the
league as a body and the clubs individually and then lead to tax generation for the country.
This implies that the football sector if developed, has the potential to contribute to revenue
generation to the state through taxes and subsequently added value.

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 CHAPTER FIVE

FINDINGS, RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION

5.1 Introduction
This chapter of the report consists of the findings from the study after the analysis was
conducted, the recommendations made to tackle the issues the findings highlighted and the
conclusions.

5.2 Findings
The general objective of this study is to investigate current situation of football in Ghana and
the contribution the local professional league (Ghana Premier League) has made on the
economy and provide recommendations for the development of the sport that will be
beneficial to the overall economic development of the country. The findings are summarised
in this section.

5.2.1 The Current Approach to Football Development is Disjointed and Uncoordinated.

There is no doubt that football in recent times has transformed into a global socio-economic
venture. This means, the football sector now possesses a huge economic capacity in addition
to its social capacity. This makes the football sector an unconventional driver of economic
development. However, for a country to be able to harness the economic capacity of the
football such a country has to develop the sector through a coordinated approach. The
development practices employed in a country translates to the level of seriousness attached to
the development of the football sector. This study revealed that the Ghanaian football
development practices and approach currently employed is disjointed and uncoordinated.

5.2.2 Inadequate investment in the football sector

Football, just like any other support, thrives on investment. The investment comes in diverse
forms such as infrastructural investment, injecting cash into the system, among others.
Observing the current football landscape reveals an inadequacy of any form of investment.
The football faces numerous challenges as a result of inadequate investment such as a lack of
facilities for the clubs to use or for the country to use to host major international tournaments,
financial struggles within the local professional league, among others. This has resulted in the
quality of games the local clubs produce and subsequently poor performance levels of the
national teams. The local league as also lost its prestige among the top leagues in Africa, and
as such Ghanaian clubs do not have direct qualification to CAF organised competitions.
Furthermore, the continuous rise in the exodus of Ghanaian players from the Ghanaian. Most

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of these talents end up ruining their career because their level of quality cannot rival their
counterparts.

5.2.3 Lack of grassroots development approach

The success of the football sector heavily depends on the supply of talent and the quality of
such talents. Ghana as a country has talents in abundance, however, the problem lies with the
quality of the talents. To achieve top quality talents, the abundant talents need to developed.
The development practices consist of identification and development. Thus, to be able to
develop the grassroots, there needs to be a model or programme that spells out the
identification and development process. However, in the current Ghanaian football practices,
the study reveals that there is a lack of such models/ approaches. This makes grassroots
development in the country experience a lot of challenges such as, lack of facilities, lack of
financial support, lack of technical personnel, lack of exposure to new trends in football,
among others. This has resulted in the loss of most of the young football talents with the
dream of becoming professionals. Most of the talents branch out of the part of football to
look for jobs because the current football practice does not provide them with the opportunity
to fully realise their potentials. Also, the abundant football talent with no development
approach provides privateers with the opportunity to take advantage of the young players.
This also contributes to the growing exodus of young Ghanaians players out of which most
do not make a memorable career because their level of development is inferior to their
counterparts. Subsequently this has affected the local football scene and in the long run the
national teams.

5.2.4 Lack of coaches and technical personnel training approach

The on-field success of every team hinge on both the quality of the players and the coaches
and technical personnel. The coach sets up and assembles the team. The level of quality of
the coach translates to the performance of the team. This makes it imperative to develop the
coaches and technical personnel as much as it is to develop the grassroots. In Ghana, the
allure of football appeals to so many as a way out of poverty. However, the study reveals that
in the current football landscape, there is a problem with the development practices/
approaches/ models to coaches’ education. The coaching education system faces numerous
challenges such as lack of facilities, lack of a talent-based educational system, financial
constraints, among others. This has contributed to low number and quality of local coaches.
This has resulted to the lack of faith in the local coaches’ pool from majority of the local

53 | P a g e
clubs and the national team. The lack of faith means, that more and more foreigners get the
top jobs and respect in the local football sector.

5.2.5 Lack of a clear-cut philosophy

Football as a sport represents a microcosm of the society. This means that the way and
manner a country approaches football is influenced by the culture and values of that society.
This makes it necessary for any country to have a clearly defined and formulated football
philosophy to guide the development of football. A carefully defined and formulated
philosophy will outline the style of play which will influence the type of coaches and
technical personnel to be trained or hired, the next generation of talents, which will influence
the development model for the grassroots. However, this study reveals that the Ghanaian
football development practices lacks such a clear-cut strategy and document. The last of such
a strategy was the Ben Kwoffie’s 5-year plan which led to the country’s first world cup
qualification. The lack of such a strategy or document has contributed in the unplanned way
that the country approaches football, both locally and nationally.

The development practice/approach employed in a country translates to the success of such a

country in the football world and the subsequent harnessing of the capacity of the football
sector. The current football landscape proves that the disjointed and uncoordinated approach
to football has been the bane to the development of the football sector.

5.2.6 Previous governments have failed to implement their political promises to football
development
Football and politics are intrinsically linked. This symbiotic relationship between football and
politics is more prominent in Africa. Thus, politicians capitalise on the social capital of
football to score political points. The football sector also requires the efforts of government
and politicians in order to thrive. This is because the government’s role such as the provision
of infrastructure, the provision of financial support, formulating and implementation of
regulations and policies, among others, in the development of football is very critical. In
Africa, politicians outline political promises that relates to the development of football in
their manifesto prior to elections. Due to the popularity and euphoria around football gives
the politicians credence and the popularity in their political ambitions. Nevertheless, after
elections, most of the promises are not implemented. This study revealed that this situation is
evident in the Ghanaian football sector. Analysing the political promises contained in the
manifestos of the two previous government administrations, this study revealed that the
politicians made promises that covered themes such as, infrastructure provision, provision of

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financial support, provision of management structures, grassroots and coaches’ development.
However, at the end of their tenure of office, the football sector has experienced little
improvements. Although the level of improvements is low, majority of it came in the form of
providing management structures for sports development in general. The management
structures consist of the recently passed sports act 934 (2016) and the subsequent reform of
the National Sports Authority. The two previous governments also provided financial support
to the football sector. However, a huge chunk of such financial support went in the direction
of the national teams, especially the senior male national team (Black Stars) to fund the
international campaign of the Black Stars. This situation has been the trend in Ghana football
since independence, because politicians believe that the success of the Black Stars gives them
the social capital and popularity to cement their legacy or prolong their political careers. The
least improved area were the grassroots and personnel development, and the provision of
infrastructure. Even though the provision of infrastructure featured prominently in the
campaign promises, little have been done in that area. The football sector still lacks decent
and standard facilities that can improve the quality of play and also make it feasible for the
country to host an international tournament. The politicians when they come in power have
also not done enough in the area of grassroots and coach development. The grassroots still
lack the requisite facilities, support, systems and exposure among others, to contribute to the
development of the next generation of players and coaches. The failure of politicians and
governments to implement their promises have contributed immensely to the present state of
the football sector where there is a lack of decent infrastructure, misplaced priorities in the
provision of financial support, inefficient turn out of the abundant raw football talents, the
low supply of coaches and the poor quality of coaches, among other challenges.

5.2.7 The Local Professional League is an avenue for economic development

Football globally has transformed into a huge socio-economic venture. This can be attributed
to the increased commercialisation of the sport. The socio-economic nature of football in
recent times has made the sport an unconventional economic development driver. This is to
say the football sector now has the capacity to influence economic development in a country.
This study revealed that the local professional league (Ghana Premier League) has the
potential to be an avenue for economic development. Through analysis, this study identified
that the local professional football sector contributes to the economy of the country through
the provision of employment and generating revenue. The 18 Premier League clubs in the
country directly generates about 990 employment and generates about $800,000 annually as

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revenue through broadcasting rights. This figure shows that the football sector is trying even
though the sector is gravely underdeveloped. This figure also shows that if enough attention
is paid to the local professional league and the sector is developed wholistically, the football
sector has the potential to be an unconventional avenue of development. The underdeveloped
nature of the local professional sector has made it an unattractive sector for the corporate
world to invest and has inadvertently put a lot of pressure on team owners to finance the club
from their own pocket. This situation is not healthy for the running of the club and also goes
against the requirements of a professional club. This is why the FIFA report in 2016 pointed
out that there was no professional club in the Ghanaian football sector. Based on this, the
football sector has a long way to go to achieve the level of development that is expected of
the sector.

5.3 Recommendations
The study recommends the following in response to the findings of the study;

5.3.1 A complete overhaul and replacement of the current football development practices and
approach.
According to the findings of the study, the current football practice and development
approach employed in Ghana is disjointed and uncoordinated. This disjointed and
uncoordinated approach has contributed to the current state of the football sector. The
findings from the study points to the fact that the problem is deep rooted in the foundation of
the football sector, and so in order to solve this problem and finally start developing football
sector, it is imperative that there is a complete overhaul of the current football development
practices and approach. The current football development practice employed in the country
does not favour the provision of adequate infrastructure, the development of the grassroots
and the technical personnel, the implementation of a philosophy. This has resulted in the
inadequate supply of football infrastructure, training pitches, coach and technical personnel
education system and facilities, the haphazard way of organising and operationalising football
and the inability of the country to harness the capacity of the football sector. A complete
overhaul of the current system will make room for the introduction of a more coordinated and
strategic development practices that will create the environment conducive enough for the
growth of the football sector in a wholistic manner. This new approach will be based on the
football practices of top football countries around the world and tailored to suit the Ghanaian
context in order to prevent the situation of blindly implementing a concept that is foreign and
not feasible with the local system, because football is a microcosm of the society. This new

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approach should embrace the importance of grassroots development and coaches and
technical personnel training and development as the core element to the development of the
football sector. Also, this new approach should streamline the development process through a
carefully formulated and defined football philosophy and plan, which will be opened for
review every decade in order to get abreast with the changing times. A complete overhaul and
replacement of the current football development approach and practices with a more
coordinated and strategic one will introduce sanity in the otherwise chaotic football sector
and set Ghana football on the path of glory and success.

5.3.2 Government Focuses more on the local football sector

Football in Ghana consist of the local football sector which is the local clubs and the national
teams. However, the national teams get most of the attention from the government.
Specifically, the senior male national team (The Black Stars) get the most of the attention.
The Black Stars is viewed as the face of football in the country. Successive governments have
realised that the Black Stars hold the key to raising the image of the government and as a
result, these governments do not hesitate to make funds available to fund the campaign of the
national team in an international tournament. These governments aim at basking in the
reflective glow of the national team winning international laurels during their administration.
This can be attributed to the reason why past governments have gone out of their way to
make outrageous funds available for the black stars. Whiles the Black Stars get more of the
attention, the local football sector suffers at the other end. The local football sector lacks the
requisite support ranging from funding through to facilities and technical personnel. Many
football experts have made assertions that there exists a strong correlation between the
national teams and the local football sector. Thus, for the national teams to have a steady flow
of talent, the local football sector needs to be developed, else the funding of the governments
to the national team all ends up in the drain. This means that it is imperative that the
government find a common ground with the Football Association to channel the focus of the
national team success through the development of the local football sector. This way, the
government will be able to harness the social capital that the football sector possesses from
both fronts, thus the local football sector and the national team successes. Also, if more
attention is given to the development of the local football sector by the government through
the National Sports Authority, it will make the sector more attractive to the corporate world.
The further investments from these corporations will make the sector grow and as a result, the
economic capacity of the sector will be felt immensely as the clubs will have the capacity to

57 | P a g e
employ more people and generate more taxable revenue. This is to say, investment from the
government will lead to long term gains to the government through direct and indirect taxes,
value added, direct employment, indirect employment and induced employment.

5.4 Conclusion
Football has transformed from a mere social event into a global socio-economic venture with
significant economic gains for countries who have put in efforts to develop their football
sector. The sport continues to undergo series of evolutions each passing day and as a such, it
is imperative that a country that wants to benefit from the sport should stay updated with the
latest trends and continue to invest in the sport. The sport is understood to have an economic
capacity which can be harnessed only through the development of the sport. This is to say,
there exist a direct relationship between developing the football sector and harnessing the
economic capacity of the sport. There are many evidences from countries such as England,
Spain, Germany etc. This study found that football in Ghana is the most popular sport and
that it also possesses huge social capital which appeals to governments. However, the
government attention is primarily focused on the senior male national team (the Black Stars)
to the detriment of the local football sector. The study found that the current football
landscape is a testament to the disjointed and uncoordinated approach to development that is
employed in the country. This study suggests that governments channel their attention
towards the national teams through the local football sector. This is to make sure that the
local football sector is developed and attractive for investments from the corporate world and
also lead to the constant supply of talent that will feed the national teams. This is because,
many football experts believe that a thriving local football sector has an immense impact on
the national teams’ performance in an international tournament. This will result in the
national teams winning laurels and the government basking in the reflective glow and
subsequently polishing their image and scoring political points.

58 | P a g e
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