The Ghana League Clubs Association (GHALCA) has secured the approval of the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, to invite the best club in Cote d’Ivoire to clash with Medeama Sporting Club for the 2024 President Cup.
The approval followed a proposal by GHALCA to change the style of the event for next year, by going international.
On Thursday, October 26, 2023 the leadership of GHALCA, led by Kudjoe Fianoo, paid a courtesy call on President Akufo-Addo at Jubilee House, where the discussion came up.
After thanking the President for attending the event last year, his second time since assuming office, Mr. Fianoo indicated that he had also come to seek his approval to honour him with next year’s match. He presented photo albums for the two events the president attended.
Also, they wanted the President to help them invite the champion club of the country of the special guest of honour for the 67th Independence Anniversary celebration to play Ghana’s champion, Medeama Sporting Club.
“Next year, you will be preparing to leave office and we want to leave the best for last. So, we want next year’s competition to depart from the normal Accra Hearts of Oak and Kumasi Asante Kotoko.
Having met with the ministry, we are in the process, subject to your approval, that we think we should use the champions of Ghana this year and all things being equal, the special guest of honour, who will be coming to grace our independence anniversary, if [he] could bring the champion of that country to play our champion club to make it more competitive. We want to go international,” he said.
The GHALCA chairman told the President that, this year, they intend to move the competition from Accra to Kumasi.
He said that being the last President Cup for President Akufo-Addo and coinciding with his 80th birthday, the football community would want to honour him in a grand style. He made it clear to the President that his approval would enable them to look for sponsorship and organise a great event.
Another proposal by the GHALCA chairman was to put together some clubs to play a competition in honour of the President, but he did not elaborate on that.
The delegation that met the President were the chairman of GHALCA, Kudjoe Fianoo; Vice Chairman, John Ansah; George Ofosuhene Peprah; Anita Wiredu-Mintah; Samuel Oduro Nyarko and Patrick Akoto.
President Akufo-Addo said he was touched by the words of recognition by the GHALCA chairman, who had indicated that the decision by the government to construct youth sports complexes across the country would ensure that football is played without break.
On the President’s Cup and the proposal to go international, President Akufo-Addo welcomed the idea.
He told them that the guest of honour, “for me, is a straight-forward one, Cote d’Ivoire.” He said he would inform the Ivorian President about it.
Before the meeting ended, the decision was for a committee to quickly be set up to arrange the competition.
Meanwhile, President Akufo-Addo asked the Presidential Press Corps to excuse them, so he had an in-camera discussion with the GHALCA delegation “about the patronage of football.”
