Ghana Football Association President Kurt Edwin Simeon-Okraku says the development of the organisation’s three Elite Football Academies is making significant progress, with the GFA investing GHS 1.4 million each year in their management and growth.
Speaking at the 32nd Ordinary Session of Congress, Simeon-Okraku described the academy programme as a central part of Ghana’s long-term strategy for developing football talent.
The investment is intended to strengthen the pathway for young players by combining structured football training with formal education. The academies are part of the GFA’s wider “Power to the Youth” strategy, which aims to identify promising footballers, support their development and prepare them for international football and the professional game.
A first group of academy players has now completed the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) and is preparing to graduate.
The milestone reflects the programme’s dual purpose, with the GFA seeking to ensure that its young footballers develop both on the pitch and in the classroom. Alongside their sporting education, players are being given a formal academic foundation intended to support them during and after their football careers.
The academies’ impact is also being seen in Ghana’s national youth teams. Simeon-Okraku revealed that 11 players from the GFA Elite Football Academy are currently part of Ghana’s U-17 national team.
He said the number demonstrated the effectiveness of the Football Association’s approach to identifying and developing young players. The representation of academy footballers in the national youth set-up offers a measure of how the programme is producing players capable of progressing to the highest levels of youth football.
The GFA has also expanded its technical and welfare support, recruiting 10 members of staff to improve the quality of training and the care available to players. The group includes coaches, goalkeepers’ coaches and physiotherapists.
Those personnel are working with the Elite Football Academies at Prempeh College in Kumasi and Achimota Senior High School in Accra. Their arrival is intended to reinforce both the football-related and welfare elements of the programme.
The continued funding forms part of the GFA’s effort to create a sustainable supply of talent for Ghanaian football. By linking academy training, education and national-team development, the association says the programme is designed to help promising players make the transition into senior football.
The progress report was presented by Simeon-Okraku during the GFA’s 32nd Congress, where he highlighted the academies as a key pillar of the country’s future player-development plans.
GFA Communications
