The idea of football returning in empty stadia is fine – Deputy Sports Minister
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Deputy Sports Minister, Perry Okudzeto believes that the idea of playing the Ghana Premier League behind closed doors is one that could be embraced.
Football activities have been suspended since middle of March due to the deadly COVID-19 pandemic.
The season which was in week 15 was put on hold after Ghana government placed a ban on all gators in a bid to curb the spread of the disease and slow down recording new cases.
Some leagues around the globe have resumed football action, with the Bundesliga being the first major league to have been continued.
Few weeks ago, the Executive Council of the Ghana Football Association (GFA) disclosed that they will consider all the factors before making a final decision by June 30 as to what the future of the league would be.
There has been incessant calls on the GFA to take a decision to resume the league, however, the Deputy Sports Minister addressed how the sports industry cannot be isolated from the country as a whole as Ghana deals with the pandemic.
“It’s important that this is managed in a holistic way. That’s why the President of the Republic [Nana Akufo-Addo] is managing it the way it ought to be so we cannot be in isolation as a sector we have to be sort of be in the mix of what generally is been done to manage the case in Ghana. We would have to get to the point where government decides it’s okay to have public gatherings,” Mr Okudzeto said on the Sports edition of the Beyond the Lockdown programme on Joy News Channel Sunday evening.
When Okudzeto was asked whether Ghana could emulate leagues which have resumed but are being played without fans in the stands, he sad:
“For a football match or any sporting activity to take place, it’s not only the players, technical team, stadium managers, all kinds of people who will come together to make a football match.
“The option of playing in empty stadia is fine. When we get to that point and we think that it’s the best option for us in terms of making out game safe it will be one of the options we will consider. However, as we speak that decision has not been taken,” he answered.
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