Sports
Team Psychologist engaged for Black Stars
As part of moves to strengthen the Technical team of the senior male national football team, the Black Stars, the GFA has engaged Belgian Kris Perquy as Team Psychologist.
Kris Perquy is an accomplished Sports psychologist with a little over 17 years’ experience working with professionals in Sports to enhance their psychological well-being.
He worked with the Belgian Football Association for 15 years, helping to professionalize their Football psychology offering for players and Coaches. He developed a Coach Education program dubbed “Psychology for Football” which reached over 300 trainers.
His work also saw him working as Lead psychologist for a project to support elite Referees in their preparation and recovery.
Kris Perquy was a member of the coaching staff for Belgium’s Olympic athletes supporting the team during training camps and has worked as Mental Coach for professional football clubs such as KSV Cercle Brugge, RSC Anderlecht, Club Brugge and KV Oostende.
Perquy has also worked as Performance psychologist for a global E-Sports organisation and Mental Coach for Belgium’s national male and female Handball teams. He prepared top swimming talents for the Olympic Games as well.
Kris Perquy holds a Masters degree in Organisational Psychology from the University of Gent and a Certificate in brain-based coaching from the Neuroleadership Institute in London, United Kingdom.
He is the Founder of the International Network of Football Psychologists, an organisation that provides platforms for the sharing of best practices amongst mental coaches from the highest echelons of European Football.
With his depth of knowledge and expertise in the area of Sports Psychology, Kris Perquy co-authored “The Sport Brain”, a book on Sports Psychology, with Van Halewyck.
In appointing Kris Perquy, the Football Association is confident that the entire Black Stars team would have a topnotch professional in Sports Psychology to take care of the team’s needs in this regard. Kris is also expected to design and implement training sessions for Coaches and Team psychologists of the various national teams as well as Football clubs in Ghana.
GFA Communications
Sports
Kurt E.S Okraku elected CAF Executive Committee member
The President of the Ghana Football Association (GFA), Kurt Edwin Simeon-Okraku, has been successfully elected as a member of the Executive Committee (EXCO) of the Confederation of African Football (CAF).
The four-year term runs from 2025-2029.
The President, who was elected uncontested, joins the 24-member committee of the powerful body of the continent’s governing body.
Kurt Okraku’s election to the CAF Executive Committee comes as recognition of his remarkable leadership at the Football Association, where he has worked to rejuvenate Ghanaian football since taking office in 2019.
His efforts to enhance transparency, promote grassroots football, women’s football and focus on youth development have been well noted within the African football community.
With Ghana’s strong footballing tradition and legacy, the presence of the GFA boss on the CAF EXCO is seen as an opportunity to advance the interests of the country and help promote football development across Africa.
Mr. Okraku’s role will give Ghana a stronger voice in the decision-making processes that shape the future of football on the continent.
President Simeon-Okraku becomes the sixth Ghanaian to serve on the CAF Executive Committee in a list that includes Ohene Djan, Kobina Hagan, Nana Fredua Mensah, Samuel Okyere, and Kwesi Nyantakyi.
Sports
GFA concludes training of Club Safety and Security Officers and Regional Sports Security Officers
The Ghana Football Association (GFA) has successfully concluded its training program for Club Safety and Security Officers (CSSOs) and Regional Sports Security Officers (RSSOs).
This comprehensive training, which took place from March 7 to March 10, 2025, aimed to throw more light on the enhance safety and security measures across Ghanaian football.
The training was conducted zonally, covering all 86 elite clubs and 16 regions. Participants were divided into three zones, with Zone 2 covering the Ashanti, Western, Western North, and Central Regions, and Zones 1 and 3 covering the remaining regions.
The training modules included:
Challenges of Safety and Security in Ghana: Identifying and addressing key safety and security concerns in Ghanaian football.
Roles of the Club Safety and Security Officer (CSSO) and collaboration with Regional Safety and Security Officers (RSSO): Defining the roles and responsibilities of CSSOs and RSSOs, and promoting effective collaboration between them.
Club Safety and Security Officer Checklist: Providing a comprehensive checklist for CSSOs to ensure that all safety and security protocols are in place.
Introduction to the Enhanced Safety and Security Protocols 2025: Introducing new safety and security protocols aimed at improving safety and security at match venues.
Practicum and scenario session: Providing hands-on training and scenario-based exercises to prepare participants for real-world safety and security challenges.
The training workshop was led by DCOP Lydia Donkor, Chairperson of the Security Committee. Others included Capt (Rtd) Nick Owusu, Vice Chairman of the Safety Committee, Julius Ben Emunah, Head of Competitions, John Ansah, Felix Bewu and Emmanuel Osei, members of the Safety and Security Committee.
This training is part of the GFA’s enhanced approach to ensuring improved safety and security at match venues across all competitions.
