Chief Executive Officer of Databank, Kojo Addae-Mensah has controversially argued that football has the potential of creating more jobs in Ghana than we see in the mining sector.

To him, if government will invest in the development of the game, it has the potential of reducing the high rate of unemployment in the country.

Currently, more than 1.2 million persons from 15 years and older are estimated to be unemployed, representing a total unemployment rate of 11.9%, according to the Labour Force Survey Report.

And with football employing basically the youth, the financial kingpin insist government must concentrate on developing football than concentrating on ‘environmentally degrading’ mining industry.

“We always talk about the fact that there are no jobs and always sit on platforms to explain how powerful sports as an industry can develop this country. It can transform an economy overnight,” he said.

“I am not here to downgrade any industry, but mining is such an environmentally degrading area to go into. So why don’t we pump that infrastructure into football and build 25,000 capacity stadia across the country to employ the youth,” he angrily charged on the Football Legends Night Show on GhOne TV on Friday night.

“A football team of just 25 people employs coaches, doctors, physiotherapists, cleaners, masseurs, cooks, etc and all that drives the service sector while the infrastructure drives the industrial sector. How many people will suddenly be employed? He questioned.

He compared the rate of employment of the mining sector to the potential of the football industry.

“How many people does the mining sector employ? Not to talk of the impact on water bodies, roads, and the environment which give negative results after doing the impact analysis of the mining industry,” he noted.

Successive governments have however relegated football from the national priority overly concentrating on other sectors despite the high potential of the football industry.

Marketing expert calls on @ghana_league clubs to be proactive to secure sponsorship for their brands pic.twitter.com/7nM76XiaM8

— Sheikh Tophic Sienu (@DeSheikh1) July 10, 2017