Kurt Okraku highlights footballs role in Ghanas economic growth during Columbia University visit

Ghana Soccer Association (GFA) President Kurt Okraku has reaffirmed soccer’s significance as a key driver of employment, financial thunder, and national pleasure at some level of an engagement with a delegation from Columbia University’s MBA program.

The consult with, piece of the college’s Global Immersion direction, noticed 30 MBA students and college people work along with top GFA officials to be in contact about the evolution of Ghanaian soccer, its governance, commercialization, and the rising hyperlink between soccer and tourism.

Addressing the delegation, Okraku emphasized the GFA’s commitment to leveraging soccer’s influence past the pitch, notably in boosting Ghana’s economy and international image.

“Soccer is now not proper a game in Ghana; it’s an industry that drives employment, financial thunder, and national pleasure. The synergy between soccer and tourism is additionally a extremely critical component in our trend contrivance, and we’re dedicated to leveraging it to appeal to funding and international consideration.”

He highlighted the GFA’s structured reach to trend, which involves make stronger from FIFA, CAF, and UEFA in areas equivalent to infrastructure, competitions, and grassroots initiatives. Okraku additionally pointed to the speedy thunder of ladies’s soccer and the federation’s endured efforts to call and nurture younger skill.

The session additionally featured a presentation by the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA), led by Deputy CEO Ben Anane Nsiah, who outlined the role of sports activities tourism in Ghana’s economy. Over the final four years, the GTA has actively positioned soccer as a tourism asset, capitalising on most most indispensable tournaments and fan engagement to advertise the nation globally.

Okraku reiterated the GFA’s imaginative and prescient to toughen partnerships and international collaborations, ensuring Ghanaian soccer remains a power each on and off the sector.