Arsene Wenger, Chief of Global Football Development at FIFA, has disclosed that the organisation responsible for overseeing football intends to establish an academy in Ghana.
He claims that with the opening of academies, FIFA’s Talent Development Scheme will assist five African nations, including Ghana.
FIFA plans to establish 75 academies worldwide by 2026; the other nations are Cameroon, Liberia, Ivory Coast, and Zambia.
“Over the next six months and one year, it’s to open more academies,” Wenger told Supersport in an interview.
“We are now close to opening a new one in Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Ghana and Zambia and we want to develop five new academies there and, at the end of 2026, we’ll have 75 academies all over the world.
“That means football education has moved forward and that’s what we’re focusing on at the moment. We want the game to be more competitive and of better quality and there is only one way to do it: it’s the quality of the education and quality of the competitions.”
The Ministry of Youth and Sports and the Ghana Football Association (GFA) are under intense pressure to make investments in the nation’s sporting facilities.
Arsene Wenger
The “Save Ghana Football” demonstration was a protest that took place last Wednesday with the goal of holding football authorities accountable.
The conveners sent a petition to Alban Bagbin, Speaker of Parliament, outlining some of the most important reforms that must be implemented, such as creating a national football policy and forming a commission to look into the underwhelming performance of the different national teams.
The dissolution of national team management committees and accountability for the distribution of funds from competitions such as the World Cup were also high on the agenda.
