Chief Executive Officer of Hearts of Oak Mark Noonan has called for the Ghana Premier League to be separated from the Ghana Football Association.
Mr. Noonan posited that the FA’s continuous meddling in the affairs and running of the Premier League has led to a slow growth of the top flight despite the abundance of exciting players in the country.
The quality of the Ghana Premier League has deteriorated in recent years with the FA at the center of the blame for its consistent focus on national teams to the detriment of the nation’s top flight.
The Ghana Premier League Board, the body mandated with the administrative running of the league continue to operate under the directives of the Ghana Football Association Executive Board.
“We need somebody that is incredibly independent, a great business operator, a good politician and consensus builder to lead the league," Noonan told Saddick Adams, a Ghanaian journalist.
“I do believe the league and the FA should be separated but connected in other words."
“The FA will have an important role to play - working for Caf and Fifa and organising teams, FA cups, grassroots football and player registration."
“There is always a good model to adopt - like the US model, the German model and English Premier League. We need to take these into consideration."
“From what I can tell, self-interest and [lack of] transparency have been the order of the day and, perhaps, there were people in positions without the confidence to operate."
The topflight is currently run by the Premier League Board of the GFA.