The of Youth and Sports (MOYS) says it has now been confirmed that some club chairmen and their Sports Council collaborators are involved in the widespread ticket deals which take place at various premier league centres in the country.

Following media reports last week of the act going on at the centres, the sector Minister, Mr Edward Osei Kwaku, summoned a meeting of all stakeholders at which it was established that ticket racketeering and other malpractices in the collection and disbursement of gate proceeds are widespread phenomenon in Ghana football.

Describing the action as thievery, the ministry attributed its prevalence to the involvement of club chairmen, the connivance of some Sports Council officials and the lack of proper supervision by the Professional League Board and the Ghana Football Association. It said as a result, huge sums of money are siphoned into individual pockets, thus “undermining effective development of football and sports in general.”

To curb the plunder, the ministry has directed that with immediate effect the security agencies should be fully involved in the checking and monitoring of ticket printing and sales. It also tasked the GFA, the Ghana League Clubs Association (GHALCA), the Professional League Board (PLB) and the National Sports Council (NCC) to submit by Friday workable proposals for putting an end to the malpractices.

The meeting, attended by Deputy Minister Joe Aggrey, Sports Council Chief, Mr Owusu Ansah, GHALCA chairman J.Y. Appiah, GFA General Secretary Kofi Nsiah and PLB vice-Chairman Sylvester Abra-Appiah, also agreed on a cost-sharing formula to improve the Bolgatanga Park, now being used as a league centre due to the closure of the Tamale Kaladan Park.