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Respected football administrator, Wilfred Osei Kweku Palmer, has accused the leadership of the Ghana Football Association (GFA) of playing a significant role in the relegation of Tema Youth Football Club from the top tier of Ghanaian football.
Tema Youth, a club based in Tema known for producing notable players such as Thomas Partey, Joseph Paintsil, and other Black Stars talents, has fallen on hard times. The club, which once competed in the Premier League, now finds itself in Ghana's third division.
Osei Palmer, who has been closely associated with the club, believes the team’s downfall is linked to its failure to compensate Young Red Bulls for the transfer of Joseph Paintsil to Belgian side KRC Genk.
Following this issue, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ordered Tema Youth to pay €150,000 to the GFA, a ruling the club chose not to comply with. In an emotional interview on Asempa FM's Ultimate Sports Show, Osei Palmer expressed his frustration, saying:
I do not regret doing football while I was at the hospital, but my disappointment is how people came together to relegate the team.
Palmer further suggested that the relegation was part of a larger plot, stating:
It was a bigger project I was doing but I am well, and I will keep on persevering regardless of what has happened.
He went on to reveal that he was told GFA officials had conspired to ensure that Tema Youth’s downfall was inevitable.
Arguments on CAS proceedings
Palmer also raised concerns about irregularities in the club’s case, noting that five different player passports were presented during the CAS proceedings, which he described as fraudulent.
Even when we went to CAS, we had five different player passports, which is not right. I know where these player passports were manufactured.
Now competing in the third division, Tema Youth has faced further difficulties, including deductions of points every time they play a match, adding to the challenges the club is grappling with in their struggle to regain their former stature.