GFA Needs Cleansing � Augustine Ahinful

A former player of the Black Stars, Augustine Ahinful, says the Ghana Football Association (GFA) needs to be cleansed in order to sanitise the game of football in the country. He, however, said GFA president, Kwesi Nyantakyi, alone could be blamed for the woes of the nation�s football because he did not work alone. �That, to me, does not mean somebody must go but as FA president, Mr Nyantakyi takes responsibility for whatever happens and that is why maybe he always bears the brunt,� he explained. �Of course, the FA president is the head but he has picked people who are working with him. There are good ones but others may not be good and those are the people who must be weeded out,� Ahinful emphasised and asked how the GFA could succeed when details of an executive committee meeting which was supposed to be behind closed doors was once heard live on radio. Ahinful, who was speaking to the Graphic Sports, however, expressed worry at the clause which made it difficult for other people to be part of football administration in the country and said, conducting a shake-up in the FA has always been a difficult process because the clause allowed members of the various committees to be associated with football clubs. This, he said, was because there are many people who are ready to help revive football in the country but they are unable to do so because they do not have any link with clubs. The former Ghana international, who once won the goal-king title with for Obuasi Goldfields in the Ghanaian Premier League, was not happy about the declining state of Ghana football and stressed the need for the FA and its allied institutions to work assiduosly to revive the sport. Sharing his thoughts on the possible endorsement of Avram Grant as the next Black Stars coach, Ahinful said given the necessary support, the new coach could do the work. He, however, expressed concern about the haste in which the FA came out with the announcement, saying �what if we are not able to meet his financial demands and the other contender also comes with similar demands?�