The Founder of Bis-Paradise Sporting Club, Bismark Owusu Mensah, has expressed concern over the slow development of football in Ghana, stating that the country has failed to meet its football expectations over the past 44 years.
Speaking on “Raycof Sports Night” with Kwame Adolf Asmah, Owusu Mensah noted that inadequate facilities and weak grassroots structures continue to hinder progress in Ghanaian football.
According to him, most football infrastructure in the country is outdated, a situation he believes is affecting performance and the overall development of the game.
“From 1982 up to date, we have not reached our expectations as a country. All our facilities are old and that is the reason why our football is not making any impact,” he said.
He stressed the need for greater investment in grassroots football, especially the Division Two and Juvenile leagues, which he described as the foundation of football development in the country.
“We must be serious with our grassroots footballers by equipping them with the necessary equipment,” he added.
Owusu Mensah also argued that football in developed countries continues to excel because they treat the sport as a serious business, unlike in Ghana where he believes policies focus more on the Premier League and national teams such as the Black Stars.
He further called for reforms in national football policies to ensure balanced development at all levels of the game, particularly in the Division Two and Juvenile leagues, where young talents are discovered and nurtured.
“They only concentrate on the Premier League and the national league teams, most especially the Black Stars. Our policies do not support the grassroots, so an amendment must be done,” he stated.
The Bis-Paradise Sporting Club founder also highlighted the importance of coaching education, insisting that coaching should be treated as a continuous learning process.
“Coaching is like teaching; it must be done every day. Errors are corrected during training and not at the end of the game,” he explained.
He added that football development should follow a structured pathway from the juvenile level through Division Two to the elite stage to ensure better cohesion among national team players.
Owusu Mensah also criticized poor management practices in some clubs, saying personal interests often overshadow the development of players.
He concluded by calling for stronger parental involvement in supporting young footballers, emphasizing that the burden of player development should not rest solely on club owners and coaches.
