Ghana Football Association (GFA) Presidential aspirant, Mr Fred Pappoe on Saturday called on the Overlord of Dagbon, Ya Na Abubakar Mahama II as part of activities lined up for his tour of the northern regions.
Pappoe, aka Papsay, is touring the region to interact with clubs and seek their support and vote in his quest to assume the wheels of the FA at the October 25 elections.
Speaking to the Times Sports yesterday, Papsay explained that the courtesy call on Ya Na Mahama was to greet the king and seek his blessing and permission to campaign in the region.
“My main reason for coming here was to meet the various clubs in the region and engage them in a one-on-one interactions and explain my plans and policies to them; that will allow them know what we are about to share in the vision.”
“However, it was important to seek the permission of the Overlord of the region and seek his blessings. We had a fruitful discussion and advised that the relationship should not be limited only to football but consider other developmental projects in the region.”
He said the first phase of the tour was successful with the meeting of the renowned king and representatives of the local club side, Gbewaa United.
According to Papsay, the campaign team was scheduled to meet teams in the other regions where they hope to meet the representatives of the team today.
Ya Na Mahama II presented a symbolic smock to Mr Pappoe and wished him well in the process.
Mr Pappoe launched his manifesto on Thursday, with a vision based on what he termed the ‘5 Rs’ and explained will ‘Redeem, Revive, Repair, Recover and Restore Ghana football.
The former GFA Vice President said the image of Ghana football had been battered and bruised; therefore there was urgent need to trigger steps to rebrand the image to make it very appealing to the corporate world, fans, among other stakeholders.
“My vision is to have a GFA that is globally recognized, respected and competitive, with its products such as the national team, local football, players, administrators, technical staff among others being of the highest stock of marketability.”
BY ANDREW NORTEY