President of the Ghana Football Association (GFA), Kurt E.S Okraku has met with members of the newly-formed Assessment and Classification Panel to discuss among others, the reason for putting the team together and most importantly, the expectations of the Football Association.
The three-man panel, chaired by Executive Council member Frederick Acheampong, has retired FIFA referee Justice Yeboah and Emmanuella Aglago, another retired FIFA referee as members.
“Colleagues, we need to bear in mind that the public is watching and they expect a lot from us. In time past, the FA was not directly involved in the grading and classification of referees. But today, the Executive Council has taken a decision to form an independent body to take care of this important sector of our industry.
“We believe that this team has a big role to play to ensure that our referees are trained and graded appropriately for our collective good,” President Okraku told members.
Chairman of the Committee, Frederick Acheampong assured that his team will work hard to restore public confidence in Ghanaian referees.
“First of all, thank you for having confidence in us. The fact that you decided to fall on us for this important task means that you trust us and you believe in us that we will deliver.
“I want to congratulate my colleagues, Mr. Justice Yeboah and Emmanuella for the recognition by the Football Association in the new direction the FA wants to take,” he stated.
“If you move around, the signal you get is that the confidence in Ghanaian referees has gone down. It is not because we are not good but it is a result of the stigma on our referees since 2018. We need to make sure that the grading and classification are done appropriately without bias.
“We have the opportunity to set a new record now. The fact that the Executive Council fell on us means that they believe that we are of high moral standing and good integrity, so we need to make sure that we do the right thing to attain the needed result,” Mr. Acheampong added.
The panel is responsible for evaluating and assessing the performance of referees by giving advice and constructive comments to help the development of the referees while also using a marking system. They shall also analyze the performance of referees in the matches in their various categories under the auspices of the Ghana Football Association. They are also responsible for grading and classification of referees.
Present at the meeting were GFA General Secretary Prosper Harrison Addo and Referees Manager Alex Kotey.
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