The Professional League Board (PLB) in consultation with the Ghana Football Association and GHALCA has decided to postpone the commencement of the second round of the Premier League from 7 July 2002 to the 21st of the same month.

In a statement signed by the Vice-Chairman of the Board, Mr K. Abrah-Appiah, it said a review of the just ended first round matches brought out certain compelling reasons for the action. According to the statement, the PLB?s committee to probe ticket deals at league centres and initial responses and cooperation from the public have been so overwhelming that the committee cannot complete in-depth investigations, that can help check this fraud which is of great concern to all, within one week.

The second reason the statement gave was Real Tamale United?s (RTU) request that they come back to Tamale for the second round. It said the initial change of the Tamale venue was at the instance of the Northern Regional Council and the matter has been referred to the Northern Regional Security Committee (REGSEC) and they would need time to assess the security situation before responding.

Then there is the issue of the fenced wall of Sekondi Gyandu Park, which collapsed and has to be repaired to raise the needed revenue for Hasaacas and the Municipal Assembly.

The statement further said that in order not to disturb the league unnecessarily, the Black Stars, now in camp, will have the opportunity to be assessed by the new coach ?within this period for him to have uninterrupted training programmes for effective team-building.

?The Professional League Board in attempt to inject discipline into the league imposed fines on some clubs to be settled within 21 days. Most of the affected clubs have appealed for time to pay the fine. The resumption of the league before the 21-day ultimatum would have dire consequences on the clubs?, it said.

The statement also explained that, ?to have a smooth second round, there is the urgent need to have a consultative meeting on Player Status and Transfer before 15 July, to beat FIFA?s deadline on the new amendments to Article 5.2 of the Regulations which comes into effect on 1 September 2002. ?The PLB has also asked the Disciplinary Committee, Appeals Committee, Referees and Player Status Committees to determine all cases referred to them before the second round resumes,? it added.

In the light of the postponement, there will be two mid-week matches when the league resumes on 21 July and by 22 August the 2002 league will run its normal course as in the fixtures already released. The PLB assured all stakeholders in football that it would tirelessly pursue programmes and policies that would bring sanity into the game of football.