Organisers of the recent “Save Ghana Football” (SGF) have petitioned the Parliamentary Select Committee on Sports to invite Ghana Football Association (GFA) Executive Council member Oduro Sarfo.
The petition by the convenors comes after Oduro Sarfo was alleged to have said that organisers of the demo hired Slay Queens, Pregnant Women and Old Women who know nothing about football.
According to the organisers the comments made by the GFA Exco member was unacceptable, uncalled for, rude and unwarranted, attacking the integrity and intelligence of women who took part in the demonstration.
“Mr. Oduro Sarfo is of the opinion that women have no knowledge in Football and are therefore banned from participating, engaging or commenting on any subject matter related to Football.
“The question is, what then becomes of our cherished Women National teams made up of women? Is not the same GFA who is constantly calling for the support of all Ghanaians for the development of our Football? Or women are excluded from their call? For him, no female Member of Parliament have the right to debate or contribute to the development of Football because women have no ‘sense’ when it comes to Football.
“This is an insult to all the female MPs who contributed massively on the floor of Parliament on Wednesday 14th February, 2024 after the Minister of Sports delivered his report to the House on the floor of Parliament.
“Furthermore, assuming without admitting that the demonstration was characterised by ‘Slay Queens’, Pregnant Women and Old Women, as Mr. Oduro Sarfo claims, does that not send a strong signal to Mr Oduro Sarfo and the GFA about how serious the development of Football is of great concern to all and sundry irrespective of race, colour, gender, ethnicity, religion or political affiliation?
“For us, that is a sign of bravery and boldness shown by our women rather than belittling their intelligence and knowledge in football. Mr. Oduro Sarfo is known for churning out unwarranted insults to anyone who questions the competence of the GFA but it high time he is made accountable for his constant reckless statements,” the statement said.
The statement added that Mr. Sarfo has vehemently breached theFIFA and GFA Code of Ethics and that his appointment as the Chairman of the Black Maidens Management Committee must be rescinded.
“In the interim, we employ Mr.Oduro Sarfo to render an unqualified apology to all women in general, especially Old Women, Pregnant Women and Slay Queens as he puts it.
“To this end, we would be grateful if Mr. Oduro Sarfo is invited by the Parliamentary Select Committee on Sports to come and justify or otherwise his insults on women without any provocation.
“Lastly, we are also calling for the resignation of Mr. Oduro Sarfo as an Exco member of the GFA with immediate effect since he does not respect the very people whose interest he is serving on the council based on both his past and current utterances,” the statement added.
GNA
WE
26 Feb. 2024
