Sports News of Wednesday, 30 October 2019

Source: www.ghanaweb.com

GFA vice president race: The 3 men vying to be Kurt Okraku's deputy

GFA Exco member Randy Abbey GFA Exco member Randy Abbey

Ghana football took a giant step towards normalcy last week after it successfully elected a president to lead its association for the next four years.

Preceding the mega elections were the Regional Football Association and Executive Council elections which took place on October 18 and 24 respectively.

The association now have a sound and functioning RFA and a president in the person of Kurt Okraku.

But there is still the small but crucial matter of selecting someone to act as a vice to President Okraku.

The previous statutes conferred on the president the power to appoint his vice but with the coming into force of the new statutes, the 12-member committee will have to elect one of them to deputize the President.

The election date has reportedly been set for November 7 and already some names have popped up as favourites for the post which was previously held by George Afriyie.

Tony Aubynn

The board chairman of Tarkwa-based Medeama SC garnered the highest votes in the Premier League election for the Executive Council – 14.

Dr Aubynn is a former Chief Executive Officer of Goldfields Ghana and it was under his reign that the Black Stars sealed a $1.5 million per year deal with the mining firm. He also held Corporate Affairs Director position at Tullow Oil Ghana.

Aubynn also had stints with the Ghana Minerals Commission and Chamber of Mines as CEO.

His foray into the football which was aided by his resourcefulness and connections to top personalities in the industry has placed him a good position for the vice president position.

He has a wealth of experience in the corporate world and is seen us someone who has the clout and know-how to secure huge financial deals for the GFA and its products.

In the Presidential elections, Aubynn’s Medeama SC declared their support for George Afriyie and it is widely rumoured that Aubynn and Medeama CEO played roles in George Afriyie’s campaign.

Mark Addo

One of the new faces who capitalized on the decision by established faces to focus on the presidential election to pick one of the spots on the Executive Council.

Mark Addo’s meteoric rise to the top of Ghana football remains a shock to most people in the football sector but his branding of division-one side Nzema Kotoko and the performance of the club in the Normalization Committee’s Special Competition has made him a suitable candidate for the post.

He shares similar Mining, Information Technology, and Manufacturing background like Aubynn and is regarded as a man with the ability to create a new image for Ghana football and make it appealing to the corporate world.

He holds the position of CEO of West Blue Consult which deals in the provision of single window and risk management system in Ghana.

He was the recent Vice President of Endeavour Mining Corporation, a mid-tier West Africa focus Gold Mining entity where he was responsible for Business Sustainability that included management of HSE, Business Development, Corporate Affairs and Government Relations.

Mark Addo is believed to be a close pal of Nana Yaw Amponsah and was one of the delegates who voted for him

Randy Abbey

He is the most experienced of all the three and his stocks have definitely risen in the last month for his timely and intelligent interventions in the Extraordinary Congress and Elective Congress.

Randy Abbey was the first spokesperson of the Nyantakyi administration and has institutional knowledge which places him above the other two candidates.

Randy Abbey polled 26 votes to pick one of the Division One slots on the Executive Council.

He is the CEO of Heart of Lions and the host of Metro TV’s Good Evening Ghana.

Randy declared his support for long-time friend and former GFA vice president Fred Pappoe who had just six votes. Ghana.

He was the recent Vice President of Endeavour Mining Corporation, a mid-tier West Africa focus Gold Mining entity where he was responsible for Business Sustainability that included management of HSE, Business Development, Corporate Affairs and Government Relations.

Mark Addo is believed to be a close pal of Nana Yaw Amponsah and was one of the delegates who voted for him.