Football
Michael Oti Adjei, Special to ESPN 5y

Amoah backs Ghana's CAF competition pull-out

Dr. Kofi Amoah, the Chairman of the Ghanaian football's Normalisation Committee, has backed the decision to pull all Ghanaian clubs out of next year's CAF competitions.

A meeting of club owners and top executives has decided there will be no Ghanaian representation in the 2019 CAF Champions League or Confederation Cup as the nation's football looks to get back on track.

There's been no Ghanaian activity since June, when a corruption and bribery scandal rocked the country's football.

Ghana missed the deadline to submit their representatives for the two continental competitions last week, before the meeting of club executives and the Normalisation Committee came to understanding that it would be better to opt out completely.

"We took a wise decision that, with the problems we are facing now, it is a good time to concentrate on solving our problems," Amoah told KweséESPN.

"Once the clubs are strong, we can work out a way," he added. "When they go now, they don't do well."

Ghana's teams didn't fare particularly well in 2018's continental competitions, with champions Aduana Stars eliminated by ES Setif in the First Round of the Champions League before finishing bottom of their Confederation Cup group.

Asante Kotoko, qualifying as 2017 FA Cup winners, were eliminated in the Confed Cup Preliminary Round.

"Most of it is financing," Amoah continued. "Ghana used to have four slots in the African club competitions, now we have two, which is a sign that things are not too well.

"Any reasonable person will realize that this is the time for us to focus, restructure, and win the fans and sponsors back."

However, not all of the nation's stakeholders are convinced by the decision. Ashanti Gold, who are joint top of the Ghana Premier League at the halfway stage of the season, believe they could have represented the nation successfully.

"We have the financial resources to compete in Africa and the team to do so," Ashanti Gold CEO Fred Acheapong told KweséESPN. "I am not sure what we will gain as a country by deciding that for a full year, our clubs will not be involved in the African club competitions."

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