Dealing with mafias is always a herculean task, particularly, in the administration of sports. Prior to the confirmation of his appointment by parliament, Member of Parliament for Odododiodio Constituency, Nii Lante Vanderpuye, was reported to have issued a warning to the ‘mafia’ at the Ministry of sport and the Ghana Football Association (GFA) that he would crush them when he assumes office.
It is true that the Sports Ministry and GFA have been embroiled in one scandal or the other in the past. The GFA, in particular, has been in the wrong reasons, the recent one being the nasty handling of affairs during the 2014 FIFA World Cup tournament held in Brazil where money was ‘flown’ to the camp of the senior national team, the Black Stars.
Ghana became an ‘object’ of ridicule in the eyes of the International Community; eventually, the then Sports Minister was booted out of office.
The desire of every Ghanaian is to get the Sports Ministry and the FA cleaned up for effective and efficient administration of sports.
But, we think that Mr. Vanderpuye, a known sports guru, should be tactful and diplomatic about his methods of dealing with the canker plaguing sports administration in the country.
His recent utterances during an interview on Happy FM, for us, may set the tone for a showdown with the nation wreckers at the Sports Ministry and the FA.
He told the station that “I am one person who will not call the people at the GFA monsters. I know they are patriotic citizens who also want to contribute their quota. When I start my job, I know certain things that are not all that well at the GFA, so I will sit down with them in a friendly manner and thrash them out.
“Whoever, if they insist on continuing with them then I would have no other option than to stamp my authority because I have been given the power to run sports in Ghana by Ghanaians, hence, I would do what they want. My understanding of football is very high, even more than some of the GFA members.
Mr. Vanderpuye may actually be more knowledgeable in football than some of the members of the FA, but making it public will only attract saboteurs who will plot his downfall. The fate of Mallam Issah should be a yardstick when dealing with the mafia at the FA. We wish Mr. Vanderpuye well and urge him not to be a Minister of Football, as has been the case with other minister of Sport.
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