FIFA boss Infantino praises Ghana FA’s success with FIFA Forward Programme

FIFA President Gianni Infantino has praised the Ghana Football Association (GFA) for its exemplary use of the FIFA Forward programme.

This was highlighted during a meeting on Thursday with GFA President Kurt Okraku in Paris.

FIFA Forward provides comprehensive, tailor-made support for football development in each member association and the six confederations.

Between 2016 and 2022, FIFA allocated $2.79 billion to its member associations and confederations for football development, with Ghana being a key beneficiary.

“I congratulated him on the Ghana Football Association making excellent use of the FIFA Forward programme, such as the recent upgrade to the Ghana Soccer Centre of Excellence,” Infantino said after the meeting.

Recent improvements at the Ghana Soccer Centre of Excellence, the GFA’s national team training centre in Prampram, include new floodlights, which were switched on in April 2024.

A 40-bed accommodation facility for national teams is also nearing completion, along with an additional artificial playing surface.

Ghana has also joined the FIFA Talent Development Scheme (TDS) and hosted a TDS workshop in June 2024 for 10 African member associations.

“President Okraku also explained how Ghana was benefitting from the FIFA Talent Development Scheme, giving anyone who wants to play football in Ghana a chance to shine. He also provided me with an update on the work being done to encourage greater female participation in our sport,” Infantino said.

Infantino added, “Ghana certainly is a football nation, as I saw for myself during a visit a few years ago, and the GFA is working incredibly hard to ensure more young people in the country can play our wonderful sport. I look forward to continuing our excellent collaboration and to seeing Ghana participate in FIFA tournaments in the future.”

Okraku, who has been at the helm of Ghana football since 2019, praised Gianni Infantino’s support for African football.

“FIFA, led by the President, has been at the forefront of support for the development of football, especially in Africa. It was always important for us to engage and to know how far we are going, how well we are doing, and what we have to do to make it much, much, much better,” Okraku said.

“I think that the President is very clear in what needs to be done. As the President of a federation, I’m also very clear on the vision of FIFA and together we are both sharing the same vision.”

Okraku emphasised that Ghanaian football is on the rise again. “We’ve introduced more youth competitions, more youth national teams… All our domestic competitions are back on track and are timely. So I think the outlook looks very good,” he said.

“What we have to do now, going forward, is to harness the potential and the positives that have come out of what we have done, and to make sure that we continue to improve on the work we are doing. But, at the moment, I would say we are on the rise again.”

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