Hearts not interested in GPL boycott

Ghana Premier League side Accra Hearts of Oak has stated its position on the purported boycott of the ongoing league over the dire financial situation surrounding the sixteen clubs.

The Ghana League Association was said to hold a meeting with the league clubs on Wednesday 8th January, 2013 in Accra to deliberate the way forward for the league as headline sponsor, Globacom, has failed to provide funds to the clubs for some time now.

Citi Sports gathered that the clubs were preparing to end their participation in the Ghana Premier League but Accra Hearts of Oak has quickly come out state their intention not to take part in such an action.

In a press statement signed by the management and released on Tuesday, the club admitted that this season has seen the burden of finances grow heavily on the league clubs but they were still doing well due to the support of their major sponsor, Strategic African Securities (SAS). That guarantee could not allow them to boycott the league in any way.

They added that a boycott would not solve matters since clubs would still have to pay their players even during the period of inactivity.

The Ghana Premier League is currently on a break and will resume in February for the second round of fixtures.



Below is the full press statement from Accra Hearts of Oak Sporting Club
The attention of Management of Accra Hearts of Oak Sporting Club Limited has been drawn to a story in the Ghanaian Times (January 7, 2014) which indicates that the Ghana League Clubs Association [GHALCA] is meeting on Wednesday over a Premier League boycott threat by the sixteen Premier League clubs who “claim they lack the financial wherewithal to compete in the top flight.”

We, at Accra Hearts of Oak, wish to state emphatically that we have never made such a claim.

We do acknowledge the heavy financial burden that clubs playing in the Premier League bear and it is largely on account of the goodwill and immense financial support that we have enjoyed from our Major Sponsor, Strategic African Securities [SAS] that we are able to run our club successfully.

We have been invited to the meeting by GHALCA to discuss ways in which the Premier League clubs can improve their financial position and we believe that such a platform would stimulate innovative ideas leading to progress for all Premier League clubs.

We will be attending the said meeting with a focus on making our modest intellectual contribution to the discourse on how to improve revenue generation for the league and not to advocate a boycott as the story predicts.

We believe that a boycott would be counter-productive because, without generating any income, the Clubs would still be paying idle players and paying other bills. We would only succeed in sending negative signals to a world that has come to admire Ghana Football internationally.
This, we believe, would not be a pleasant message to send across to the world from a country that has successfully managed and guided its national team to three straight FIFA World Cup tournaments.

We remain supportive of the cause of all clubs in Ghana Football, and also of the efforts of the Ghana Football Association in being able to procure sponsorship for the Ghana Premier League for a number of years now.

We are certain that a concerted, collective and collaborative effort between the Premier League Clubs and the Ghana Football Association, our mother body, would enable us to reap benefits that would go a long way to alleviate the burden of Premier League Clubs in Ghana.

FROM MANAGEMENT OF ACCRA HEARTS OF OAK SC LTD.