The Phobians' top official shares his thoughts on the termination of the Ghana Premier League due to Covid-19
Hearts of Oak chief executive officer (CEO) Frederick Moore reveals his club would have preferred to continue with football after the termination of the 2019-20 season due to the coronavirus challenges.
On Tuesday, the Ghana Football Association (GFA) Executive Council decided on a complete cancellation, the campaign having been on hold since March when a national ban on all public gatherings, including sporting and religious events, came into force.
The Premier League (GPL), where Hearts currently sit ninth on the standings, and the FA, where Phobians are on course to win their first title since 2000, headline the competitions affected by the latest decision.
“We are into football and would have preferred playing football but if the Exco [Executive Council] makes that decision that it’s been cancelled, we respect that," Moore told TV3.
“With everything that is going on, it is probably the best decision.
“Because we are bigger, the impact is felt much larger than a smaller club. We have been planning and managing our affairs within a revised budget we set for ourselves. We’ve got other things we are looking at doing.
“We are constantly reviewing our expenditure. It doesn’t matter how big your revenue is, if your expenditure is bigger than your revenue, you’ve got a problem.
"At this point when we are not getting a third of our money from gate proceeds, our job is to make sure we can tap into other revenue sources, and that is why we’ve been working with our strategic partners.”
Owing to Covid-19, football and all other contact sports remain suspended in Ghana until at least July 31 as part of measures to curb the spread of the disease.
Earlier last month, the GFA revealed it was engaging the Government of Ghana over the possible resumption of the football under strictly safe protocols such as playing matches behind closed doors, having had a first request rejected.
Football's governing body was hoping to follow the template of the likes of England, Spain, Germany and Italy, who resumed domestic football after a similar temporary suspension of their national leagues due to the pandemic.
The second most successful club in the history of the Premier League behind 23-time champions Asante Kotoko, Hearts have won the elite division title on 19 occasions, the last coming in 2009.
The Phobians have also lifted the Ghana FA Cup 10 times and the Ghana Super Cup twice.