Military to be deployed to two Division One League matches this weekend

Increased security, including military personnel, has been requested for two Division One League matches this weekend.

The decision to have additional security personnel at the DOL Zone 2 match between New Edubiase United FC and Samartex FC at Gyamfi’s Park in Bekwai and the DOL Zone 3 match between Oda Kotoku Royals FC and Tema Youth FC was taken to ensure a “safer football environment”, a statement from the GFA said.

The Safety and Security Committee of the GFA opted to reclassify the matches after taking a number of factors into consideration including the league positions of the clubs in both fixtures.

First-placed Samartex and third-placed New Edubiase, who have a game in hand, are separated by six points in Zone Two while the top two in Zone Three, Oda Kotoku Royals and Tema Youth are separated by two points.

Other factors taken into consideration by the Committee were the “historical profile of matches involving these teams, the general security cooperation profile recorded at the home venues of these teams, the intelligence gathered from these match venues, as well as anticipated events that may breach the security of players, officials and spectators before, during and after these selected matches.”

“The GFA wishes to entreat clubs and stakeholders involved in the aforementioned matches, therefore, to offer their utmost support, cooperation and understanding towards an incident-free event on the match day,” the GFA’s statement added.