“No spectators will be allowed at the training centres, and, when actual competition resumes, seating at all stadia will be limited to twenty-five percent capacity to ensure social distancing,” the President of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo declared.
On Sunday, September 20, 2020, the president lifted the ban on contact sports, paving way for the resumption of competitive football activities, boxing, athletics, swimming among other contact sports in the country. Amidst the outbreak of the coronavirus, all sporting activities were banned in the country which led to the suspension of football since March 16, 2020 and the cancellation of the 2019/2020 season.
The 2020-21 Ghana Premier League (GPL) season is starting on 17th November 2020. Clubs have been preparing for the new season with most of them traveling to different locations for their preseason camping and friendly matches. The first transfer window for the 2020/21 Ghana Premier League season closed on October 31 and most of the 18 clubs in the Ghanaian top-flight were active in the transfer market. The Ghana Football Association and the government’s Covid-19 task force has started conducting the Covid-19 test for all players and officials. All registered players of the clubs, coaching staff and officials will undergo the test for the purposes of competition integrity, fairness and transparency ahead of the start of the new season.
Two national teams, the men under 20 and under 17 are currently in camp, preparing for their various international competitions which will happen in November and next month.
The women’s under 20 and under 17 teams were also in camp preparing for the FIFA World Cup qualifiers but had to go home awaiting new directives and dates for their games. The senior men’s team, the Black Stars will host Sudan at the Cape Coast stadium on Thursday, November 12, before traveling to Khartoum to face the Falcons five days after in the reverse fixture for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers. The team recently engaged Mali and Qatar in two friendly games in Antalya, Turkey, losing 3-0 to Mali and beating Qatar 5-1.
With Ghana set to host the 13th edition of the Africa Games,. President Nana Addo Akufo-Addo has sworn in members of the local organizing committee last month. Although sports journalists appear anguished about the current state of affairs, the most hit, undoubtedly are freelancers who have absolutely nowhere to turn.
According to the President of the Sports Writers Association of Ghana (SWAG), Kwabena Yeaboah, he receives calls on daily basis from distressed members for assistance and direction. Many have lost their jobs, some pay cut and others delayed salaries for months due to the pandemic.
The government of Ghana has distributed substantial sums of money to ailing businesses in the name of STIMULUS PACKAGE to resuscitate them unfortunately, journalists, were never considered for this package despite the huge contributions of journalism to the development of the nation. Some journalists have been compelled to take the rather churlish and bitterly unbelieving decision to continue to work without any form of salary or delayed income until the return of normalcy.
BY: Ayishatu Zakaria Ali – AIPS Young Reporter – Ghana
