Andre Ayew: Government investment can help revive Ghana football

[caption id="attachment_1358250" align="alignnone" width="1199"] Andre Ayew[/caption]Former Ghana captain Andre Ayew believes the government is committed to restoring Ghana football to its former glory, pointing to financial support for Ghana Premier League clubs as evidence of its willingness to invest in the sport.Ayew said the government's decision to provide GHS 1m to each Premier League club demonstrated a desire to support the development of football, but stressed that proper planning and infrastructure were essential to achieving lasting progress.Ghana football has faced growing concerns over the standard of the domestic game, with questions raised about the quality of the Ghana Premier League and the management of resources within the sport.Speaking on the Obi One Podcast, hosted by former Chelsea and Nigeria midfielder John Obi Mikel, Ayew argued that improving infrastructure and establishing a clear development strategy should be priorities for the country's football authorities.The biggest issue is the infrastructure. So if we don't have the infrastructure, meaning that the planning is not right, he said.Ayew also questioned whether the resources available to Ghana football were being used effectively, referring to funding provided through Fifa's Forward programme.He said the Ghana Football Association (GFA) and the government needed to work together to develop a comprehensive plan for the sport, adding that progress would be difficult without government involvement.But is the money there? So when we talk about the money, from what I know, from my information, we know that you have a Fifa Forward What it is used [for], we don't know. That's not the matter, Ayew said.What I think is that with that money or not, we need as a country, or as a federation, to try to have the plan with governments and officials, because without the government, it's not possible.The former Marseille and Swansea City forward cited the government's financial support for Ghana Premier League clubs as a positive step towards improving the domestic game.Already last year, the government gave, I think, each club, each Premier League club, $100,000 to start with, and that's a sign that the government wants to help, he added.Ayew believes greater confidence in the management of football funds could encourage more individuals and businesses to invest in the sport.I believe that if everybody's confident that resources are going to be used the right way, I think a lot of people are going to invest in football, he said.