Esme Mends, the Ghana Football Association (GFA) Club Licensing Manager and former Hearts of Oak midfielder, has offered glowing praise for Ghana football’s progress under GFA President Kurt Okraku, giving his administration a strong 8 out of 10 rating.
Speaking in an interview with GhanaSportspage, Mends admitted that his perspective changed significantly after becoming actively involved in football administration.
“I didn’t really understand it from afar, but it’s different after getting involved,” he said.
Highlighting several of President Okraku’s key achievements, Mends pointed to the distribution of pickups to all Regional Football Associations (RFAs) and buses to Division One League clubs as evidence of tangible support and investment.
“He is delivering his promises and I think he is overachieving. He has done a lot of things he promised.”
Mends also noted that the competitive nature of the Ghana Premier League has improved under the current leadership, moving away from the traditional dominance of Hearts of Oak and Asante Kotoko.
“The league has been very competitive under his tenure. It is not the usual Hearts and Kotoko.”
Despite acknowledging that challenges still remain, Mends emphasized that steady progress is being made:
“So we keep improving despite all the challenges, so I’ll rate 8/10.”
His comments come at a time when the GFA face backlash over the just ended 2024/2025 Ghana Premier League which was eclipsed by several hooliganism incidents.
