The Ghana Football Association (GFA) has launched the 2026/27 Colts Football Season with a renewed focus on creating a clear pathway for young players to progress from community football to the professional game and national teams.
The new season was officially launched on Tuesday, September 15, 2026, at the Ghanaman Soccer Centre of Excellence in Prampram.
The launch brought together GFA officials, Regional Football Association chairmen, Colts club owners, administrators, former players, sponsors and other stakeholders.
GFA President Kurt Edwin Simeon-Okraku said the revival of Colts football in 2020 was not simply about bringing back a competition.
He said the main objective was to rebuild a system that would identify and develop young talent from an early age.
According to him, the pathway should allow players to move from community football to regional competitions, elite development programmes, professional clubs and eventually the national teams.
“Six years may appear modest when measured against the long history of Ghana football. But what we have achieved in these six years is significant,” he said.
The GFA currently has 859 active Colts clubs across Ghana’s 10 football regions.
The Ashanti Region has the highest number with 245 clubs, followed by Greater Accra with 216. Brong Ahafo and Northern have 98 clubs each, while Central has 90.
The association has also established three Elite Academies, which currently have 155 young players, including 117 boys and 38 girls.
GFA president Simeon-Okraku said the academies are designed to combine football development with education and personal growth.
He also urged professional clubs to pay greater attention to the Colts system as a source of emerging talent.
“Our Colts system must not exist in isolation. There must be a clear connection between grassroots football and the professional game,” he said.
