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Time and time again this issue has come up on sports programs, seminars and workshops, as to why players refuse to stay in the league and how it has affected the league.

This article takes a look at the causes of the exodus and how much it has hurt the league. There’s the need to get to the bottom of the problem, only then can we understand the seriousness of it, and how detrimental it is to our league.

Owners and managers are always complaining about the of lack of funds to run their clubs. They say the fans don’t fill the various stadiums, which is their major source of income, however can you blame the fans if you ship-out their favorite players; the reason they come to the stadium in the first place.

The Ghana Football Association(GFA), the clubs, administrators, and coaches all contribute to the player exodus. The league is collapsing and it’s worsening hence every player wants out.

A lot of players were interviewed before this piece was put together so it reflects on the true feelings of the real actors.

The players are hurting inside, “when I get injured I treat myself”, “when I complain about my salary, I am told if I want I should leave, someone is willing to play”, “I have to buy my own boots”, “after the season ends, I have to do mason work to fend for myself”. These are a few of the woes of the players I spoke to. They prefer to remain anonymous, for obvious reasons.

It comes as no surprise that players jump at any opportunity to travel outside considering their predicament. They want to make ends meet so bad to avoid being tagged lazy. They go to training and return to sleep on empty stomachs. Expenses covering their training kits are not catered for by their respective teams.

The dilapidated nature of even our best stadia leaves much to be desired. Poor pitches, dirty washrooms, dirty seats. These are even the best we have, as for the rest, the least said about them, the better. Football is played with proper facilities, if nothing at all, the pitch should be in good shape.

It’s hard to come by proper pitches for training, and the few around too, players have to pay out of their own pocket to get the facility to train. Asante Kotoko SC a few years ago made their own training pitch, but the question is, of what quality is the facility? Is it something that will attract players? Does the pitch protect players? Accra Hearts of Oak too recently moved to Pobiman, but the standard is too poor for such a club.

Apart from WAFA who can boost of a nice facility, no other GPL club has facilities to attract players. The Egyptian and South African leagues are attracting and keeping players because of incentives and good facilities. Ramadhan Sobi willingly came back to the Egyptian league because the standard of the facilities is top notch. Mohammed Aboutriker played in the Egyptian league for years without moving because of good facilities and good welfare of players. Tottenham Hotspurs and other top European clubs wanted his signature but Mohammed wasn’t willing to move.

When the facilities are of high quality and in good shape, the players love to play and enjoy playing. Every player loves to play on a good pitch.  What will motivate a player to move from Europe to play in Ghana? Facilities play a big part in player motivation. Players don’t have to pay for gym training, it should be readily available for him/her anytime he wishes to train.

Camps in which players stay during the season are nothing to write home about. They are under-fed in their various camps. This must stop!

Moving from that, player welfare is another reason why the players love to move. Poor salaries, poor treatment, and a lack of respect for players are but a few of the hardships the players go through. No proper incentives and the conditions of service are porous.

The association between players and clubs must be a mutually beneficial where each party benefits in equal measure. Inasmuch as the players need the clubs, the clubs also need the players.

Players are left to treat themselves after they get injured. If you are serious about your condition, then you the player, has to fund your own treatment. Only a few clubs really take treatment of players serious. Kotoko recently sent Richard Senanu to Germany for surgery, that is a very good example to follow. When players know they won’t get proper medical treatment when they get injured in the GPL, they will definitely want-out.

When players ask for better treatment, as in bonuses and salaries, clubs and coaches sometimes tell them to move out if they wish, they say there are a lot of players available to play. This statement is heartbreaking. They are poorly paid, even those monies don’t come regularly. It can sometimes accumulate for months.

You don’t pay the player well, you don’t speak well to him and his salary doesn’t come on time. Why won’t he/she leave?

With all these poor conditions, clubs still expect players to play well and be loyal. The fans also expect to see nothing but the best. And if the player plays poorly or move out when a better deal comes, he receives insults from the fans.

Also there is the issue of hooliganism. Some centers are a no-go area. The safety of players is always not assured and left in the hands of some bad fans. They get pelted with stones, insulted, hit with sticks and slapped. This happens mostly in the lower divisions. This goes a long way to discourage the players from staying in the country for long. 

One other thing we must realize is that football is now controlled by money, not much about passion. So the moment a player gets a club that pays just a little more, they are off. Genaro Gattusso said, “during our days we felt ashamed when we lost a match, but players of today start playing on social media after losing”. 

Players have a family they have to take care of. Most of them are the breadwinners of their families. Society look up to them. They always seek to move to a better place with more money. If not for money, why would a GPL player move to Madagascar, Somalia, Sudan, Ethiopia, Tanzania, etc.? Any move except Ghana is ok.

The likes of Emmanuel Nettey of Herats of Oak, Yahaya Mohammed of Aduana, and Justice Blay of Medeama, who are viewed as some of the best players in the league now will gladly move to any place that gives them more money. Regardless of how it might negatively affect their development.

You look around and see the poor living conditions of some old players who were very famous. This alone makes the current players want to move and make more money so they can prevent getting into that situation after retiring.

The old players themselves advice the current ones to move and make some money. Most of them regret not moving. Reverend Osei Kofi, formerly of Kotoko, has always said he regret not moving to Stoke City when he had the chance.

You look at how good some of these old players were and you wonder why they are living such a poor life. Don Bortey, formerly of Hearts of Oak, scored the same free-kick goals that made David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo famous. Charles Taylor(Kotoko/Hearts) and Mohammed Poloo(Hearts), dribbled like we see Lionel Messi do.

The question is, why are they not as rich as their foreign counterparts? Or even living a life that is a little close to that? A parent will tell his kid, I don’t want you to end up like that, so make a move.

Some players also tend to believe they will gain more respect, or their football careers will not be complete if they don’t play abroad. I guess this runs through the ordinary Ghanaian. Most people want to travel abroad and live a ‘better life’.

People also tend to give a lot of respect to people who travel abroad. It’s been inculcated in us since childhood, that abroad is better. That is why the few players who are paid well still wish to move just to boast of the fact that they are playing outside Ghana.

Coaches also play a part in the player exodus. They bring in their own players and freeze out the players they meet no matter how good they are. They are sometimes linked to the same agency, they bring in the players, project them and then sell them. Players blossom half a season and they are gone, especially when it is that a coach might come in and freeze him out.

Some clubs and coaches are involved in tribalism. Picking up players not based on their performance, but their ethnicity. This even hamper the development of the players.

After the Anas Exposé in 2018 on corruption in Ghana Football, many fans have the idea that the matches played are fixed, so they won’t waste their time and go to the stadium. Gate proceeds are also a major source of income for the clubs. Now that the money from that sector has drastically reduced, the clubs have to rely on player sales to keep running.

Playing abroad usually increases one’s chances of being called up to the various national teams. Just a handful of locally based players are given call-ups to the national teams. Even that happens once a while. Why then wouldn’t players be inclined to move.

Then there is the intermittent yet wholly avoidable disciplinary issues which plague the league. They are not usually resolved too early and it affects the next season. This makes the league unattractive. It becomes hard to retain quality players in an unattractive league. These players have ambitions of reaching the sports highest echelons

Just imagine if our goal kings and best players were still playing here or had stayed a little longer before they left. The kind of euphoria it would bring and the amount of fans who would have trooped into stadiums to watch them.

The likes of, Latif Blessing (Liberty), Vincent Atinga (Hearts), Yaw Frimpong (Kotoko), Samuel Safo (Liberty), Daniel Nii Agyei (Kotoko), Touriq Gibriel (Hearts), Baba Rahman (Kotoko), Mahatma Otoo (Hearts), Dauda Mohammed (Kotoko), Gideon Mensah (WAFA), Charles Boateng (WAFA), Majid Ashimeru (WAFA), Winful Cobinah (Hearts), Amos Frimpong (Kotoko), Ofori Antwi (Wa All Stars). These are but a few of the players who have exited the scene recently.

These stars all left for greener pastures.

All these have affected the league in diverse ways. The unattractive nature of the league has made it difficult for it to attract sponsors. The corporate world is not willing to invest in it. A few sponsorship packages that come through from time to time are not anything to write home about.

Players and clubs also find it difficult to attract sponsorships, the clubs are literally operated on a ‘hand to mouth’ basis.

Players are fighting to get noticed by foreign agents so it’s almost like every man for himself. This has affected the style of play and team work, making the game unattractive.

One obvious effect too is the increasing rate of empty stadiums on match days. The fans have nothing to cheer on. Their favorite players are gone, they don’t believe in the system, and the quality of play is also low. This naturally put-off fans.

As a result of player exodus, we perform poorly in Africa club competitions. This has affected our slots; we are left with only two. One for the CAF Champions League and the other for the Confederations Cup.

The way forward is for the GFA to visit the grassroots and start developing talents from there for the league.

Players must be treated and projected well.

Sponsorships must be secured for better facilities to be built. At least the pitches should be of a high standard.

Salaries of players must be increased to a reasonable level.

The welfare of players and the facilities must be prioritized at this moment. Only then can we begin to save the league, produce and maintain quality players, and make head waves in the African Club Competitions.

Written by, YAQUB SHAREEF.