By Alex Osei-Boateng
ACCRA, April 2 (Xinhua) -- The Ghana FA Normalization Committee (NC) special competition for all 64 elite and second-tier clubs kicked off across league centers last weekend.
The competition has revived competitive football activities in Ghana after a 10-month hiatus.
The NC, last December, announced the introduction of a new competition structure to bring back official domestic football activities in the country and also make clubs active.
The competition, which was planned to start in January, had to be postponed to the last days of March following a standoff between premier league clubs and the NC.
After several weeks of back and forth, the opening round of matches got underway smoothly last Sunday, bringing football activities back alive after it was put on hold in June last year by the government, following the premiering of a documentary that exposed bribery and corruption in soccer administration in Ghana.
The return of football has brought back excitement normally seen around league centers all over the West African country.
The president of the NC Kofi Amoah believes the introduction of the championship is a big step towards reviving local football as well sending Ghana football back to its glory days.
"I thank all the clubs, their chief executives, the owners and the players for accepting the invitation of the Normalization Committee to start playing football again," Amoah told reporters in Accra.
"I am excited to see the crowd," he added.
Prior to Sunday's start, the NC assured that it will always work for the best interest, promotion, development and growth of football, while wishing all clubs the best of luck throughout the tournament.
"Together, we can make Ghana football great again," the NC said in a release.
According to the NC, the tournament will be used to test some of the solutions brought to the fore by stakeholders in the quest to normalize football in Ghana.
Winner of the competition's first-tier will represent Ghana at the next Confederation of African Football (CAF) Champions League while the champion of the knock-out stage will be Ghana's representative in the Confederation Cup.
