Ever since football started seeing cash injections, Western part of Africa has been the receiving end and there are plenty examples we can talk about but we can only highlights a few of them.

First, football now is about money, and there is no way a club can make it to the top without any huge financial backing.The evidence is clear for us to see and we are seeing it unless we don't want to be sincere with ourselves as Ghanaians or west Africans.
Again the very day football ceased to be a passion was the day football became a professional job.

Football is about money and money is about football and if our clubs realize this the better for them.

Reverend Osei Kofi formerly of Kotoko is on record to have said that "the biggest mistake he ever made was to reject a £30,000 offer from a former English premier league side, Sunderland. That assertion is enough to tell you that money is important in football.

Aduana Stars kingpin, Yahaya Muhammad was quoted as saying on on Nhyira FM in Kumasi that "it'll be very difficult for a player to make something out of our system". Yahaya Mohammed was alluding to the fact that Ghana football is not resourceful enough for players to make a meaning living out of it.(He should forgive me if I misquoted him)
We have had players in Ghana who have and still complaining about their unpaid bonuses when they helped their clubs to win continental titles and I am saying without any shred of doubt that given the opportunity again to some of these retired players they would think twice before accepting to play for these local clubs.

Former national and club legends will not even advise their relatives to play for these local clubs and even if they would, it would come with a tight agreement.

From the 1960s to early 2000s, West Africa was in command of African club football competitions with teams like Hafia club from Guinea, Our own Hearts Of Oak and Kotoko, Asec, African Sports and Stella club from Ivory Coast, Stade De Malian, Enugu Rangers,Julius Berger Bcc Lions, Kano Pillars and Eyimba from Nigeria playing well. It was not as a result of money but as a result of "Lets play for passion".

This time around the table has turned and the players would rather make demands and our clubs this time are not financially sound to pay huge for the maintainance of their principal actors.

Today, the table has turned a Northern African side like Al Ahly can afford to pay a player more than the entire country like Ghana pay to our national team manager. Isn’t it wonderful?

Congolese club TP Mazembe pays huge salaries to players while Patrick Motsepe, the president of Mamelodi Sundowns can maintain a top notch manager like Pitso Mosimane with a big incentive and equally purchase a player of the Manager's choice. Isn't it wonderful?

Can our clubs here do same? Is a multimillion dollar question.
Now to the issue about the decline in quality of the Ghana league.

The fact of the matter is that Ghana is blessed with abundance of raw talent but the reality is that, do we have the requisite facilities to develop the players? The answer remains a mirage.

The last time we had a Ghanaian club getting into the group stages of the Caf Champions League was as far back as 2011 and that was Beekum Chelsea. They achieved that feat because the bank roller as at that time was financially sound to cushion the club and as well maintain the players who won the Ghana league and also made a few strategic inclusions.

He could not hold on to those players after the continental competition because he had to sell them to settle his debt.

That very year they rubbed shoulders in the same group with Congolese giant TP Mazembe who eventually bought 3 of their key players. It goes to state the fact that “you are selling your weapons for your enemies to fight against you.”

Kotoko for the past decade had not got to the group stages of any caf organized club competition.

They managed to enter the competition after which they lost abou 3 or so influential players who played a major role in that campaign.

Moreover, apart from Asante Kotoko and Accra Hearts Of Oak any team from Ghana that has tried going to Africa after the competition faces a lot of challenges.

Medeama, Aduana Stars and then Wa All Stars are examples out there who have had financial issues regarding traveling arrangements.

Last season when kotoko played in the Caf confederations cup, they went to Zambia twice of which they had to double transit and that took a toll on their finances; can you blame them?

You can't because that's what they were able to afford which should not be so.

To the media, I am only appealing to you to use your various platforms be it Radio or Television to educate the fans that they should lower their expectations not expect when Ghanaian clubs partake in any of the caf club competition because non of our clubs here is very financially sound to travel far in those competitions.

Finally, there should be a cordial interactions between the club owners and the government if our clubs perform well in African club competitions, it will improve our economy in one way or the other because whenever our clubs are doing well in Africa, foreign companies would love to associate themselves with our clubs and it will be of advantage to the country.

Government gets its share when Ghanaian clubs are doing well on the continent.

A typical example is when Kotoko and Ashgold were playing in Africa, the government had her share.

I hope this article would be given a good look.

Long live Ghana football

Article by: SHEPHICH SHERIFF SEID

A player for Bekwai Youth Football Academy and a Level 100 student of University For Development Studies,Tamale(campus)