Kurt Okraku
All ten Regional Football Associations (RFAs) have received a significant boost after the Ghana Football Association (GFA) released GH¢300,000 to support the payment of officiating fees for the various league competitions organised by the RFAs.
The disbursement of these funds is in fulfilment of the pledge made by GFA President Kurt Edwin Simeon-Okraku at the 29th Ordinary Session of the GFA Congress in Kumasi on Monday, July 10, 2023.
The funds disbursed to all RFAs is to support the cost of officiating in the competitions organised by the RFAs.
The disbursement was done taking into consideration the number of clubs in each region, the number of matches to be played, and the cost of refereeing in each region. This was done to ensure some form of equity in the application of the funds.
The Greater Accra RFA received GH¢50,000 while the other football regions, with the exception of the Upper East and Upper West regions, each received GH¢30,000. The Upper West and Upper East football regions received GH¢20,000 each.
The RFAs and the District Football Associations (DFAs) under their jurisdictions, are in charge of clubs in Division Two, Division Three, Regional Women’s Division One, and Colts U-13, 15, and U-17 leagues
Payment of officiating fees has historically been a great challenge for clubs that compete in the Regional Leagues.
The GFA is also investing an amount of GH¢200,000 into the training of “Catch Them Young” Referees to bring them to an optimum level and prepare them for the Regional League competitions.
It would be recalled that the GFA has already provided whistles, Assistant Referees flags, and red and yellow cards to the RFAs to further resource the “Catch Them Young” Refereeing Policy.
The Association will also be distributing referee uniforms to the RFAs in the coming weeks for “Catch Them Young” Referees.