The news of an increment in the novelty Locker Room Bonus for Ghana Premier League (GPL) players is surely a positive one for many of them, if not all.

It gives credence to the belief or adage that every beginning is diffi­cult, but it gets easier from there on.

It has generated excitement among the players who are the main beneficiaries of this initiative from the Premier League sponsors, betPa­wa.

What this means is that from an initial amount of GhȻ150.00 paid to every single player captured on the Team Sheet of winning teams via MoMo, players are now set to receive GHȻ400.00 each as winning bonuses.

That is to compliment what their respective clubs pay as winning bo­nuses.

But what is been acclaimed today was a huge subject for contention with betPawa on one side and the clubs, and by extension their umbrel­la body, the Ghana League Clubs As­sociation (GHALCA) on another side.

One even wondered why clubs should raise objections over such a laudable idea which in the long term will ease pressure of paying bonuses to players on them.

But to be fair, the position of the clubs was not to oppose the idea but its modus operandi.

The clubs wanted to be recipients of this money and disburse to players instead of allowing a betting compa­ny to have such important details like players registered phone numbers and deal with them directly.

Some of the fears the clubs har­boured were not misplaced, though especially in an era where betting syndicates have got the flak for influ­encing games even in more advanced leagues.

The story is not different in Ghana where clubs have been demoted for their involvement match-fixing.

And, guided by the history of clubs and payments of such bonus­es, betPawa stood their grounds and finally, it kick-started and just a year after, it has been increased.

This is a good move worth com­mending. It will not just promote competition among the teams that would be striving to win match after match.

Among the players, it will also promote a healthy competition since it will apply to only players that form the match day squad.

Players can also make a lot of money within a month, even more than what they are paid by their respective clubs, if they are able to embark on a winning spree.

 It is therefore the more reason why partners of the league must work together to maintain this collabora­tion to ensure competition among players and clubs to make the league attractive to the fans as well.

The level of competition in the league has been a major headache for stakeholders in recent times and is reflecting in the performances of the clubs in Africa.

It has taken Ghanaian clubs years and counting to start performing in Africa club championships to force the hands of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to restore the two slots each allotted Ghana in club competitions.

The player exodus is also yet to be curtailed because the local league is still not attractive enough for selec­tors of the Black Stars.

Players must still play abroad before standing any chance to don the Black Stars jersey. Those that are given the chance just go to warm the bench.

But such initiatives can go a long way to restore player confidence since football is driven by laurels ad huge financial motivations that comes with it. Kudo to betPawa.

By Andrew Nortey