The Ghana Football Association (GFA), has held a one-day Safety and Security workshop dubbed “Promoting Match Venue Safety and Security” for Safety and Security Officers of the 18 Premier League clubs.

The workshop took place at the GFA headquarters on Thursday, November 5, 2020.

The workshop was also attended by members of the GFA Safety and Security Committee, Stadium Managers, representatives of the National Sports Authority and representatives of the 16 Regional crime officers.

Delivering the keynote address, General Secretary of the Ghana Football Association, Prosper Harrison Addo (ESQ) said the safety and security Officers will play an integral role in the progress of the season. He charged them to be firm in executing their mandate without any fear or favour especially with regards to observing the Covid-19 protocols and not to hesitate in reporting any club official who violates the rules.

GFA Safety and Security Officer, Julius Ben Emunah highlighted the concept of safety and security in Ghana, the use of Crowd Planning and Management in the prevention of Crowd Disaster and Calculating Maximum Safe Capacity of Match Venues.

He assured participants that, the GFA is committed to providing adequate training for all Safety and Security Officers, development of an apt Safety and Security Manual for Monitoring of Risk and Data Base Management for the various leagues.

L/C Donald Asare, a member of the GFA Safety and Security Committee and the Ghana Armed Forces lectured participants on roles and responsibilities of Club Safety and Security Officers and the GFA /CAF Covid-19 Matchday Operational Protocol. He further charged participants to be vigilant in executing their duties when the season kick start.

Participants were also enlightened on stakeholder’s role and responsibilities and how to handle relationships between Club Security and safety officers, the Police, Stadium Owners and the general public by Chairman of the safety and security committee, D.S.P Emmanuel Ofori Asante.

GFA’s Integrity and Compliance officer, Obed Tuffuor emphasized the ethical principles of the Association under the “No Contact” and “Zero Tolerance for Corruption” policies of the Association. He admonished participants to abide by the Code of Ethics and also report anyone who violates the Code.

The trainees were later taken through a practical session at the Accra Sports stadium by L/C Donald Asare and Julius Ben Emunah. The exercise deliberated on paying attention to social distancing on match days. Demonstrations were also made on how to ensure social distancing at venues with concrete clubs and with people standing behind the wire merch, otherwise known as the inner perimeter.