Ghana football suffered four-year setback after “Number 12,” COVID 19 – Skyy FC CEO

The Chief Executive Officer of Skyy Media Group and owner of Skyy FC, Wilson Arthur, has attributed the prolonged decline of local football in Ghana to the impact of the Anas Aremeyaw Anas investigative documentary “Number 12” and the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to him, the two events disrupted the domestic football ecosystem for several years, leaving the Ghana Premier League and other local competitions struggling to recover fully.

“Let me tell you this, the Anas Number 12 took us two years to recover. Then COVID also came in and took another two years. So, local football hibernated for almost four years, and there was no local league. This has seriously affected local football,” he said.

He made the comments on the Citi Breakfast Show on Friday, May 15, 2026, amid ongoing concerns about the declining competitiveness and appeal of Ghana’s domestic league compared to other leagues across Africa and Europe.

Critics have long argued that the local league has lost its attractiveness, with falling attendance, reduced commercial value, and increased player migration contributing to its struggles.

Wilson Arthur also pointed to a shift in the business model of Ghanaian football clubs, saying the game has become more commercial and financially demanding than in previous years.

“In the past, football was about passion or social enterprise. Lately, it is commercial and very expensive to manage. So many of them have taken a different strategy now. Almost all the clubs are breeding players for sale, and that is why Ghana football is struggling,” he said.

He added that clubs now prioritise player development for transfers rather than building long-term squads that can sustain fan interest.

“The model is a train player, sell them as fast as you can and look for a replacement,” he noted.

According to him, this approach is weakening the entertainment value of the local league, which he said depends heavily on star players who attract fans to stadiums.

“As you know, football is for entertainment. People go to the park to watch their stars. So if you sell your players prematurely, which stars are they coming to the park to watch?” he asked.