It is unbelievable that Ghana football that has shown so much potential within the past four years and fast gaining worldwide recognition should be shooting itself in the foot.

The unnecessary display of arrogance of power between the football controlling body and state security that has resulted in an unfortunate stalemate crippling all football activities does not make sense.

The Premier League, at an exciting end of first round stage, has been cancelled and the home- based national team Black Stars, preparing for the upcoming Africa Cup in Sudan, have to prematurely break camp. This is bad and giving us a bad image worldwide.

The saying that “when two elephants fight it is the grass” that suffers is definitely applicable here. Football lovers have been deprived of their usual weekend pastime and commercial activities associated with football matches, like petty trading and the transport business are all going to count their losses.

You cannot easily quantify the total benefits of weekend football programmes to the
nation and it would be in the interest of the politicians to see to the early solution of this senseless stalemate.

I wholly support those who are calling on President Mills to personally step in to stop the rot. The Head of State is a well-known sports enthusiast and he must be the first to acknowledge the important role sports plays in the life of a nation. Sports have its peculiar attraction that traverses political boundaries.

The emerging trend in my beloved Ghana of sending matters affecting sports to the law courts must be discouraged. The Olympic creed of higher, faster and stronger must be respected by all.

Nobody doubts the fact that the law courts are for all citizens but it is for very good reasons that sports matters are not pursued in the law courts. If care is not taken, a time may come when an aggrieved footballer will send a referee to court for giving him a red card that would ban the player from playing a number of matches thus depriving him of match winning bonuses. In my home country Ghana, "causing financial loss" is a very popular phrase.

Ghana should avoid giving the impression that the law courts are the best place to settle scores in matters affecting sports. The dispute over which institution has the power to probe the other and the often quoted phrase of “nobody is above the law” should be scrapped from the sports vocabulary. Of course if any state funds have been found stolen the culprits must sent to court but the “shadow boxing” must stop.

I seriously suggest that all football matters in the law courts must be withdrawn in the interest of the game. The laid down guidelines must be followed to bring back sanity into the game.

The ordinary football fan is not interested in all these legal wrangling’s. President Mills should put his foot down and call all the warring factions, including the faceless manipulators, to order so that we can have our game back.

Another week-end of self-imposed non-football action will be most unacceptable when we have been blessed with such fine weather and others, not so lucky, are playing even in freezing temperatures.

Cheers everybody and keep loving sports.