Ali Jarah, one of Ghana’s former best safest pair of hands and a former goalie of Glorious Accra Hearts of Oak says retired footballers of Ghana will work hard to garner four million votes for Mahamudu Bawumia in the December 7 presidential polls.
The position of the retired footballers, he explained, is based on Dr Bawumia’s welfare packages for the retired footballers, most of whom are living in abject poverty after their service to the nation.
“Retired footballers here and at home will go from house-to-house to campaign for Dr Bawumia as we convince our relations and loved ones to see the need to trust Dr Bawumia with their votes. He has the best sports policy for us, retired footballers,” Ali Jarah said, when he took his turn to address a gathering of retired footballers and NPP supporters at Tema New Town, where Daniel Nii Kwartei Titus Glover, the Greater Accra Regional (GAR) Minister, launched a welfare group for retired footballers.
He said under a Dr Bawumia government, footballers would be insured with SSNIT, while retired footballers would be paid a monthly stipend for their upkeep.
“Ghanaian footballers must not continue to live as paupers after their years of dedicated service to Ghana and this is what Dr Bawumia is coming to do to save us,” Ali Jarah said.
The Retired Footballers’ Welfare Group is the initiative of Mohammed Elias, also a retired footballer and CEO of One God Forever Limited.
Speaking at the launch, he paid tribute to Titus Glover, who is also a former footballer, for welcoming the idea and mentioning it to Dr Bawumia, who lauded the vision with a promise of supporting it.
“Titus Glover is yet to disappoint me since I introduced this welfare group to him. The financial support I have been receiving from him to a good number of the retired footballers who often call on me for some help is enormous.
“And when he mentioned my vision to Dr Bawumia, he did not hesitate to buy into it. Given the support the old footballers are receiving from Dr Bawumia and Titus Glover, that is why Ali Jarah said we, the retired footballers are going to work very hard to make Dr Bawumia become the president,” Mohammed Elias, whose sobriquet is Maestro, told the gathering.
With Dr Bawumia’s endorsement, Maestro said the retirees’ welfare would become a regional project to champion the good cause of Dr Bawumia.
Taking his turn to address the crowd, Joseph Tagoe, aka Bobby Short, formerly with Accra Hearts of Oak and Accra Great Olympics, lauded the project and said it would help the retired footballers, most of who live in abject poverty.
He said, “Depression is killing most retired footballers because of hardship. Most of the ex-footballers buy oversized dresses to keep them going. So, the Retired Footballers Welfare Group is welcome news.”
Titus Glover, the Guest of Honour, supported the project with seed money of GH¢50,000 after he had lauded the vision of Mohammed Elias.
Mr Glover said Dr Bawumia has outlined his policies for retired footballers and one of them is the project Maestro has started “and the project will be replicate in all the 16 regions. The days when footballers retire as paupers will be history under the government of Dr Bawumia.”
To climax the day, retired footballers from Accra played a football match with their Tema colleagues at the Nii Adjei Kraku II Sports Complex, and after an interesting ninety minutes, the host team humbled the Accra team 4:1.
