Ghana League Clubs Association of Ghana (GHALCA) Chief, MrKudjoeFianoo, has indicated his outfit’s plan to ‘fiercely’ resist the newly-introduced electronic ticketing (e-ticketing) being employed by fans to watch matches.
“We are going resist it fiercely because it has been imposed on us.
“Why should the government impose a company on us to handle the e-ticking without getting us involved,” he stormed out in an interview with the Times Sports yesterday.
He said GHALCA was not against e-ticketing per se, “but there should have been a lot more engagement.”
“If we’re all working as a team to raise standards, then I think there should be a concerted effort instead of dumping things on us.”
Electronic tickets allow organisers to avoid the cost of producing and distributing physical tickets by transferring costs to the customer, who must own electronic hardware and purchase internet access in order to receive their ticket.
The Ministry for Youth and Sports, in collaboration with the National Sports Authority (NSA) and the Ghana Football Association (GFA) rolled out a pilot e-ticketing system for the recent Qatar FIFA 2022 World Cup qualifying match between Ghana and Nigeria as well as that of the Asante Kotoko v Hearts of Oak premier league cracker – both at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium in Kumasi.
It turned out to be successful as the system has been extended to cover other local Premier League games.
According to experts, the new ticketing system will address the inefficiency and corruption within the ticketing regime in Ghana football.
“As I said earlier, GHALCA is not against digitalization, but there must be good engagement with the clubs. As it stands now, a company is charging five per cent of the gate proceeds for its e-ticketing services when we are not involved in its engagement. If we (GHALCA) had been involved, the percentage could have been lower,” he asserted.
MrFianoo called on clubs to remain focused and keep eyes open “so we’re not taken for granted.”
“E-ticketing is no law and it must not be imposed on us as we’re ready to fight it off unless there’s a much broader collaboration among stakeholders on the way forward,” the GHALCA boss insisted.
BY JOHN VIGAH
