Ghana Football Association
| CAF | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Founded | 1957 |
| FIFA affiliation | 1958 |
| CAF affiliation | 1958 |
| President | Kwesi Nyantakyi |
| Website | http://www.ghanafa.org |
The Ghana Football Association is the governing body of association football in Ghana, based in Accra.
The Ghana Football Association (GFA) is the successor to the Gold Coast Football Association, which used to be the governing body for football in Ghana and was one of the oldest football associations in Africa, having been founded in 1920. Records indicate that Cape Coast and Accra were the first colonial cities in sub-Saharan Africa to host formal leagues in the Gold Coast. After a weak start in 1915, the league kicked off in 1922 with the Accra Hearts of Oak Sporting Club emerging as winners, taking the coveted Guggisberg shield – named after the progressive British governor of that period and the man who started the Accra Football League, Sir Gordon Guggisberg.
Football was brought to the Gold Coast near the end of the 19th century by merchants from Europe, who had by then conquered the coastal areas and built forts and castles to facilitate trade. In their leisure time, the sailors would play football among themselves and with the indigenous people.
The popularity of the game spread quickly along the coast, culminating in the formation of the first football club, Excelsior, in 1903 by Mr. Briton, a Jamaican-born British citizen who was the then Head Teacher of Philip Quaque Government Boys School in Cape Coast. As the popularity of the game grew, other amateur clubs were formed along the coast, including: Accra Hearts of Oak, Accra Standfast, Cape Coast Venomous Vipers, Cape Coast Mysterious Dwarfs, Sekondi Hasaacas, and Sekondi Eleven Wise.
In 1952, the Government of the Gold Coast enacted Ordinance 14, which established the Gold Coast Amateur Sports Council, and granted the Government of the Gold Coast the legal authority to control all amateur Associations, including Football.
As the popularity of the game spread throughout the country, the existing clubs met towards the end of 1930 and elected Richard Maabuo Akwei as their Chairman.
Towards the middle of 1950, the clubs, spearheaded by Ohene Djan, accused Akwei of maladministration and questioned his ability to help grow Ghanaian Football. They therefore addressed petitions to the Governor of the Gold Coast, Sir Charles Arden-Clarke, and the Pioneer Sports Organizer, Joseph Ranadurai, on the maladministration of the Amateur Football Association by Akwei. While the petition was being addressed, Ohene Djan led a “Football Revolution" and succeeded in toppling the Akwei Administration in 1957.
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