FIFA Foundation Board Member Isha Johansen advocates football for prison reform in Africa

FIFA Foundation Board Member Madam Isha Johansen has called for greater collaboration in harnessing football as a tool for social change and prison reform across Africa.

She made the call during a courtesy visit to the Director-General of the Ghana Prison Service, Mrs Patience Baffoe-Bonnie, in Accra, as part of her regional engagements aimed at promoting rehabilitation, reintegration, and social development through football within correctional institutions.

Commending the Ghana Prison Service for its progressive programmes, Madam Johansen praised its commitment to rehabilitation, skills development, and inmate welfare. She lauded Mrs Baffoe-Bonnie’s visionary leadership and encouraged her to continue championing innovative initiatives that give inmates renewed purpose and hope.

Drawing on her vast experience- having previously served on the FIFA Council, the CAF Executive Committee, and as President of the Sierra Leone Football Association- Madam Johansen shared success stories from football-based rehabilitation projects in Sierra Leone and Liberia. She explained how football had helped inmates develop discipline, teamwork, and self-confidence, fostering lasting behavioural transformation.

As part of her proposals, Madam Johansen suggested the establishment of a “Football for Reform Summit” to be hosted in Ghana. The summit, she said, would bring together representatives from the Football Associations and Prison Services of Ghana, Liberia, and Sierra Leone to exchange best practices and explore innovative ways of integrating football into correctional reform initiatives.

In her remarks, Mrs Patience Baffoe-Bonnie expressed appreciation for Madam Johansen’s visit and her commitment to supporting the Ghana Prison Service’s reformation agenda. She commended the Ghana Football Association (GFA) and the Confederation of African Football (CAF) for their support through the GFA Foundation Ghana Prisons Project and the CAF Football for Reform initiative.

Mrs Baffoe-Bonnie reaffirmed the Service’s dedication to rehabilitation through education, vocational training, and structured recreational activities. She also outlined ongoing plans to establish industrial parks to transform prisons into centres of economic productivity and skill development.

Both parties reaffirmed their shared commitment to promoting dignity, purpose, and transformation within correctional facilities, anchored on the belief that football can serve as a powerful instrument for change.

As part of her visit, Madam Johansen is expected to visit the Senior Correctional Centre to interact with inmates and observe ongoing rehabilitation and skills development programmes. She was accompanied by Mr Malcolm Frazier Appeadu, Director of the GFA Foundation.

 

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