Member of Parliament for Tamale South ad well as owner and financier of football club Karela United, Haruna Iddrisu, has been contemplating moving the club’s team base from Anyinase to Tamale in order to comply with the Ghana Football Association’s Club Licensing Committee regulations.
The Ghanaian politician revealed that the Ghana Football Association’s (GFA) Club Licensing Committee had rejected the venue submitted by Karela as its home venue, the Crosby Awuah Memorial Park in Anyinase due to its failure to meet the standards to host the 2023/24 Betpawa Premier League.
He explained regret in the obligation to separate the club from the locals of Anyinase, which is mostly inhabited by the Nzema people.
“I’ve come to welcome Karela FC to Tamale for their preseason session and also to discuss and consult with management and the technical team where our venue for the 2023/24 season probably may be.”
“It is not my wish to have taken the team away from Anyinase from the people of Nzema. Regrettably, the GFA has disqualified the Anyinase (Crosby Awuah Memorial Park), as not being desirable or not meeting their minimum standard, so we have to look elsewhere, we will do that and satisfy the licencing requirements.”
The former minority leader further disclosed his motive for entering into football.
According to him, the rationale behind venturing into football was to make a good export of more talents, especially in football.
“I am into football as a vocation, it excites me but it’s also now a source of good export of talent. My primary interest is in the development of young talents, We need to identify groom and develop young talents who want to make a career in football which has now become a very attractive and profitable profession and activity to do.”
The Anyinase-based club was taken over by Haruna Iddrisu in December 2022 in a reported deal worth around GHS3.1 million. Prior to the change of ownership, Karela United had been struggling financially due to the loss of its previous owner, Senator David Brigidi, in 2018.
Karela United will play as guests to Legon Cities in the 2023/24 Bet Pawa premier league opener on Friday, September, 15.
–
Story by: Rashad Usman Sinah | univers.ug.edu.gh
