Kurt Edwin Simeon Okraku, Chief Executive Officer of Dreams FC has been elected the new President of the Ghana Football Association.
His confirmation came via a 96.9% yes approval (93 votes) at the GFA congress in Accra on Friday.
Kurt was the only candidate in the third round of voting after two earlier rounds failed to produce an outright winner while his closest challenger, George Afriyie of Liberty Professionals conceded defeat.
The final round was still necessary to validate his election, and Mr. Kofi Amoah, Chairman of the Normalisation Committee, confirmed his new status after what he said was a “quite transparent process”, telling Kurt he has the blessing of the Committee, CAF and FIFA.
In a dramatic poll, Kurt Okraku twice won arguably the most closely contested GFA election in recent memory but narrowly failed to garner the 50% + 1 (fifty percent plus one) vote required for an outright win.
Per the regulations that governed the polls, an individual could only become GFA President after obtaining in excess of 50% of the valid votes cast at the congress.
Of the 118 delegates, he had polled 44 votes in the first round of voting, with George Afriyie, his closest challenger, closely behind with 40 votes. That necessitated the second round of voting, and here again, he managed 59 votes or 50%.
George Afriyie, however, conceded defeat just when it was announced the third round of voting was set to kick-off, leaving congress with no choice but a third-round with only Okraku as the candidate.
Graphic Sports
Samuel A. Boakye-Buckman (popularly known as Dada Oliseh) is a self-motivated young journalist with a passion for telling stories better with pictures. He is the founder, owner, editor and bankroller of www.ghanasoccernews.org as well as this website, www.totalsportsgh.com. Dada Oliseh is again the brain behind the Dada Oliseh Photos brand that produces awesome pictures of all sporting activities, nature, and other occasions.
He has a vast experience in the reporting of sports in Ghana especially football-related activities in Ghana and beyond. A former employee of Hearts News (official mouthpiece of Accra Hearts of Oak), 90 minutes sports paper, National Sports Authority, Footballcrusader.com, sportscrusader.com, and ghanafootballnews.com, Samuel is one of the few energetic and self-motivated young journalist in Ghana with a large following on social media, especially Facebook (https://web.facebook.com/boakye.buckman.9). He is well known for his frequent updates from all over the country with pictures to match. He is also a correspondent for a few international websites, including CAF. In recent times, he has introduced, as part of his many talents, the live streaming of matches and football-related activities. He lives in Accra Ghana.