Former Ghana international Alhaji Abdul-Razak says a competitive Ghana Premier League is essential if the Black Stars are to become a stronger and more self-sufficient national team.
Abdul-Razak believes Ghana should place greater emphasis on developing its domestic game rather than relying heavily on players based overseas.
Speaking to GTV Sports, he described the local league as the main pathway through which talent should emerge for the national side.
“Who feeds the Black Stars? It’s the local league. Usually, when your local league is good, it metamorphoses into the Black Stars,” he stated.
The former Black Stars player said a high-quality domestic competition would help Ghana produce footballers capable of performing at the highest level. He added that this would reduce the need to depend so heavily on foreign-based players whose ability may not always meet the required standard.
“So we wouldn’t be over-relying on half-big or half-talented foreign-based players, because our local league can equally produce such standards, if not better,” he said.
Abdul-Razak also criticised successive governments for failing to provide sufficient support for football and said official attention had not matched the importance of the sport in Ghana.
“Successive governments have paid lip service to these things.”
A major part of his criticism focused on the country’s stadium infrastructure. He questioned why Ghana has repeatedly struggled to maintain venues capable of hosting major international fixtures, while other countries in the region have been able to meet the necessary requirements.
Abdul-Razak referred to a period when Ghana did not have a certified, fit-for-purpose stadium for Category A international matches and was considering playing a fixture in neighbouring Togo.
“When your neighbours, when Togo, at a point in time, we didn’t have a certified, fit-for-purpose stadium to host international matches, Category A matches in Ghana, we were thinking of going to play in Togo. Are you telling me the GDP of Togo is better than that of Ghana?” he questioned.
He also pointed to Mali, saying the country has several venues that satisfy Confederation of African Football (CAF) and international standards.
“Mali has five certified stadiums to meet CAF and international standards. So it’s a shame as a nation.”
The former Ghana international further accused CAF of contributing to the problem by granting temporary concessions to stadiums that do not fully meet the required standards.
“CAF itself is complicit in our inability to have adequate stadia fit for purpose.”
According to Abdul-Razak, CAF can recommend improvements and allow a stadium to continue hosting matches temporarily, but the necessary work is not always completed. He cited the Barbera Sports Stadium as an example, arguing that the venue was eventually allowed to deteriorate before being suspended.
“It’s not as if they compromise and then we make it better. That is the problem.”
Abdul-Razak said Ghana might have addressed its stadium shortcomings more urgently if it had been prevented from hosting international matches and forced to stage fixtures abroad.
“If we were banned, and then we had to travel to like Togo, and the shame it would have brought onto the nation, I’m telling you, we would have hurriedly found a way to get at least one or two standardised stadiums,” he added.
He said Ghana needs venues capable of hosting major fixtures under both CAF and FIFA requirements, alongside a stronger domestic league that can consistently develop players for the Black Stars.
