No Ghana Premier League fixtures soon

President Akufo Addo’s 10th address on the measures taken against the spread of the coronavirus on Sunday 31 May 2020 came with a blow on domestic football activities when he announced the extension of the ban on sporting activities.

This means all football competitions, including the suspended Ghana Premier League (GPL), will not return until at least July 31, even though some football administrators have suggested the games return sooner behind closed doors.

The President in his address to the nation said;

“I have by Executive instrument provided for these new directions and extended the suspension of the remaining public gatherings, as set out in the in EI. 64 of 15 March until 31 July. In here, I refer to sporting events, nightclubs, cinemas, drinking bars, beaches, festivals, funerals, political rallies and large religious programs such as crusades, pilgrimage and conventions”.

An earlier announcement by GFA to extend the suspension until June 30 raised diverse opinions from the football fraternity. With some calling for its cancellation, If that is to go by after the President’s announcement, it will add up to 2 years in a row that the Premier League in Ghana has suffered a hold-up, with the first being the discontinuation of the 2018/19 season, due to release of an exposé by Tiger Eye PI led by investigative journalist Anas Aremeyaw.

The investigation titled “Number 12” exposed some officials of the FA engaged in bribery and match-fixing allegations.

Meanwhile, the ban on some sporting activities like golf, tennis, swimming, described as non-contact sports, has been lifted.

Ghana has 8,070 cases of COVID-19 recorded with 2,947 recoveries and 36 deaths.