Ghana Football Association President Kurt Okraku has called on the United Kingdom to embrace football as a strategic tool for development, particularly across Africa.
Speaking at the launch of Arthur Wharton’s 160th anniversary celebrations in Accra, Okraku urged Britain to look beyond football’s entertainment value and recognise its power to drive social and economic progress.
“The United Kingdom has long been a global leader in the governance, culture, and passion of football,” he said.
“But I stand here today with a petition and a challenge: it is time for the UK to fully awaken to football as a genuine development tool, especially across Africa. In a world shaped by economic divides and shifting diplomatic priorities, sports diplomacy is not just a fringe soft power; it is a core strategy.”
He highlighted football’s capacity to unite cultures, educate youth, create jobs and mend communities, urging Britain to partner with Ghana in initiatives ranging from technical exchanges and joint cultural projects to strategic investments and corporate partnerships.
Turning to Ghana’s own efforts, Simeon-Okraku outlined an ambitious national agenda for youth football, infrastructure development, and women’s football, adding that the GFA’s elite academies and Prampram training camps are laying the foundation for future global competitiveness.
“Let today not be the end of a celebration, but the beginning of deliberate dialogue,” he concluded.
“Let us use this commemoration as a springboard to establish a formal roadmap between the GFA and the English FA, supported by the British High Commission, the diaspora, and UK businesses. As we honour Arthur Wharton today, let us pioneer new models of UK–Ghana football collaboration.”
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