The Ghana FA continues to excel as the lead member association trialling the various components of the FIFA Connect Programme, and the latest component, the FIFA Connect Competition Management System which began its pilot phase in October.

The FIFA Connect Programme helps MAs register all their stakeholders in a systematic way and keep track of players, coaches and referees – wherever they are in the world and to digitise their competition management activities. FIFA Connect provides a unique FIFA ID code for every individual who has a role in a football organisation, acting as a digital football passport number and has the information and history of each stakeholder. The GFA has been a key partner for FIFA in testing various elements of FIFA Connect for the past six years.

This system is aimed at registering players playing football under the umbrella of the Ghana FA and digitizing the management of competitions.

Having players officially registered on a centralised system allows for greater efficiency and transparency over the transfer of players, meaning Ghanaian clubs receive fair reward for nurturing talent. “The FIFA Connect system is a huge leap,” said GFA General Secretary, Prosper Harrison Addo. “It is giving us a whole new level of comfort and enhances our work more than a hundred-fold.

"If a player needs an introductory letter to maybe go and do something, maybe go to apply for a visa to go and play abroad, they apply in the morning and then they get their introductory letter on the same day.” This helps protect Ghanaian clubs and players. “It helps us to generate player passports for our players,” explained Francis Adu, the GFA’s IT Director.

“Invariably, (this is) helping our clubs to make money in a sense that when it comes to claiming compensation, with the help of the player passports, it’s so much easier for the clubs to make their claims against other clubs that have the precious players from Ghana.”

The system can help in this regard by providing digital records of all player registration with clubs from Ghana.

The FIFA Connect system also allows for more detailed tracking of player and match statistics, helping referees and officials manage the game and coaches to analyse matches in greater detail. “At the end of a season, we can look at all the matches played in Ghana, all the goals scored, all the goal assists, the saves [made] by goalkeepers, and this is going to help our technical directors in making decisions when it comes to the national-team level,” said Adu. The implementation of the FIFA Connect Programme in Ghana has given players crucial peace of mind. “It has empowered me,” said Aduana Stars striker Yahaya Mohammed. “Because, at first, when you are training, you are thinking about travelling, going to sign your contract and registration forms. But now, you can concentrate 100 per cent on the camp.”

FIFA Connect is available for all MAs and is being adopted across the world, bringing all players onto a centralised system, giving the players and clubs greater protection.