The Ghana Football Association (GFA), through its GFA Foundation, is set to launch the pioneering Ghana Prisons Project on Friday, May 24, 2024.
This Football for Development initiative aims to leverage the power of football to enhance the wellbeing, reformation, rehabilitation, and reintegration of inmates in Ghana’s prisons.
The GFA Foundation will equip various prison facilities nationwide with football gear, including jerseys, footballs, goalkeeper gloves, and sets of football hoses. Additionally, items such as whistles, caution cards, and movable goalposts will be provided.
Importantly, the GFA Foundation will also facilitate coaching, refereeing, and mentorship training programs for both inmates and prison officers.
Moreover, the Foundation will conduct advocacy workshops to raise public awareness about the negative impacts of discrimination and stigmatization of prisons and prisoners. This aligns with its objective of using football to promote behavioral and social change.
As the social investment and sustainability arm of the GFA, the GFA Foundation aims to improve the lives and livelihoods of people and football communities. This project is being undertaken in partnership with the Ghana Prisons Service, the state institution responsible for maintaining an efficient, humane, and safe reformatory penal system.
The project is expected to provide prisoners with regular physical activity, improve health, and foster a positive outlook on life, counteracting boredom, disillusionment, and loss of zest for life.
This initiative is the first of its kind to be undertaken by a Football Association globally, with similar efforts previously carried out by football clubs and other Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in other parts of the world.
