Ghana facing FIFA ban

FIFA has issued a warning to the Ghanaian government over police raids on the country’s Football Association.

The Ghanaian Football Association (GFA) headquarters were raided by members of the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) on Tuesday, with computers and mobile phones seized.

It is believed that police may have been searching for information on sponsorship payments, which was not provided by the GFA despite being requested in October.

The GFA has since ceased all football administration tasks, leading to FIFA – which suspended the Nigerian FA on the grounds of government interference in October – to formally warn the Ghanaian government that the matter will soon be referred to its emergency committee.

“FIFA recognises that the Ghanaian government audits the GFA accounts, but only related to the attribution of public funds,” FIFA said in a statement.

“This excludes funds coming from other sources, such as FIFA or CAF (the Confederation of African Football).”

“However, due to the (EOCO) move, the GFA had to stop all its activities, including the running of the league or other development programmes.”

“For FIFA it is not acceptable if the GFA is not in a position anymore to exercise the core of its mandate, which is to run football in the country, because of government intervention.”

It is believed that the GFA and Ghanaian government have until Sunday to resolve the issue before it is referred to the FIFA emergency committee, which has the power to impose suspension.