The event took place on Tuesday at the executive theatre of TV3 Ghana with key sports stakeholders attending.
The discussion saw key personalities brainstorming on how hooliganism which has been a long term of Ghana Football can to an immediate end.
The key takeaways include;
Fixing CCTV at league centres
Since it has been difficult to find perpetrators, it was proposed that all league centres have CCTV Camera’s fixed at the blind side of the fans so that they can capture them.
This was suggested by GHALCA Boss Kudjoe Fianoo, although admitting clubs are already burdened financially.
“Insecurity these days, we rely a lot on CCTV’s, I know the clubs are really under pressure financially but I think we should have CCTV Cameras at our venues,” he said.
Educate the public
Former CAF Deputy General Secretary Anthony Baffoe, who has commissioned some of the big world’s biggest games, was in attendance and urged one of the major things that can help is to Educate and take lessons from what has happened in the past.
“Education is key, we are coming towards the end of the season, if what happened in the previous season, if the same thing is going to happen in the upcoming season, that means we haven’t learned,” said the former Ghana international.
Sports Policing is expensive
Karela United Chief Executive Elloeny Amande said it is expensive for football clubs to strengthen their policing at the stadiums during games.
“Security services (police, military, fire service, stewards) all deployed because of entertainment activity. Apart from the financial costs associated with having them there, it’s a burden on already stretched police resources. [The police possibly have a breakdown of calculating their match day policing costs]. Clubs pay a token out of the gate proceeds but that doesn’t actually cover the full cost to the service of having the officers out on match days.
The role of the media
Former Asante Kotoko CEO Herbert Mensah made known the role of the media in fighting hooliganism, which overshadows the beauty of the game.
He stressed that if education within the media fails, the other avenues will have to be in force.
“The media have a huge role to play in educating and transforming that culture [Hooliganism] into something else, I really believe so, and if they can’t do that then we have to go into the other suggestions and show people we are not ready to tolerate that.”
Developing stadiums
Domestic football has over the years struggled with infrastructure and according to ACP Kwasi Ofori, the current standard of the various stadia empowers hooligans.
“Looking at Accra for instance where the worse disaster happened two years ago, we have seen a lot of improvement and coordination but looking at the discussion that we are having, most of the recent violence are outside Accra and I believe the licensing Authority of the sports fraternity should look at stadia security very well,” he said.
Source: Francis Hema|3Sports|Ghana
]]>