GFA declares war on betting companies

• Kurt Okraku

The Ghana Football Association (GFA) has declared war on illegal betting in football, claiming that no betting company worldwide has a license to offer odds on Ghanaian football leagues.

“No betting company has been licensed by the GFA to offer odds on our games; we’llempower our legal departments to work with others to confront this issue head-on.”

The President of the GFA, Mr Kurt Okraku, made this known at the 30th Ordinary Session of Con

gress on Tuesday, which was under the theme ‘winning the 12th man, fixing the fundamentals, and consolidating our gains.’

He said matches in Ghana’s topflight league and Division One League (DOL) have been a major feature on some betting sites around the world and this has become a concern for the Football Association.

According to the FA boss, they intend to take betting companies doing business with their product without permission.

“It is time for us to act; it is time for them to ensure that everyone respects each other’s space.

“If you are a betting company, we respect your space, you also have to respect the football space.”

“It is not okay for betting companies to continuously feed on our football. It is also not okay for us who own the football product to be poor when others are feeding on our products. It is time to say no.”

Besides, he noted that betting companies have become key partners in the development of football, not only in Ghana but across the globe; they bring in money, and it is very important for all to find legal ways to co-exist.

BY RAYMOND ACKUMEY