The Elite Football Academy system will soon spread to the Ashanti and Greater Accra regions after a successful take off in Winkogo near Bolgatanga in the Upper East region of Ghana.
The GFA Elite Football Academy system in partnership with some selected Senior High Schools aim to establish academies across the country, where players scouted at the junior high school level will be screened and placed in senior high schools in the three football zones as part of the plan to restore Ghana’s status as an African football powerhouse.
‘’If our Black Stars will be strong, it must start from the grassroot just like I have mentioned. It must start not only within the investment that we have talked about but also the career pathways for the players. When we speak about national teams, we want to talk about talent identification, how have we identified talents that will play at the U-15 level, U-20 level and up to the Black Stars level” President Simeon-Okraku quizzed.
“We realized that there is a need for a big shift at the way talents are identified, as we speak, we are working closely with FIFA, we have established a talent identification program that is funded by FIFA, the first pilot was staged in Accra, the second pilot will be happening in the Ashanti region and kids who are picked from these pilots will end up in our newly established GFA elite football academies, the first of which was established in the Upper East region”.
The concept which is open to both boys and girls and will be replicated in the Ashanti Region (middle belt) and Greater Accra Region (south coast). Essentially, the GFA will scout for exceptional talents at a young age, provide professional football training, and make them available to all clubs and national teams in Ghana.
GFA COMMUNICATIONS
