The Ghana Football Association’s (GFA) Ethics Committee is to investigate allegations of match-fixing between two teams in the country’s second tier of professional football. In a statement on its website, the GFA said that officials from two teams in the Ghana National (GN) Bank Division One League, Wa African United and Techiman City FC, will appear before the GFA Ethics Committee on Wednesday 12 August at Ashanti Regional Police Headquarters.

The GFA said that the committee had invited the President of of Wa African United, Nana Gyamerah Kwabena Yiakwan II, and the CEO of Techiman City FC, Charles Kwadwo Ntim, to the hearing to assist in its investigations into the alleged match-fixing case. The allegations revolve around a match between the two sides on 15 July in Damongo in the West Gonja district of Ghana.

The match itself was abandoned before it could be finished due to supporters of Wa African United invading the pitch and attacking match officials during the second half, when Techiman City was leading 1-0. The GFA Disciplinary Committee subsequently awarded Techiman City, who are top of the Division One League, three points and three goals.

On announcing the date of the Ethics Committee’s hearing, the GFA confirmed that all matches over the weekend (8/9 August) would continue as scheduled while the match-fixing allegations were being investigated. All matches duly went ahead. The GFA also announced that Charles Kwadwo Ntim and Samuel Otoo, two members of the Division One League Board whose names were mentioned the match-fixing allegation, opted to ‘step aside’ from all activities of the Board until the Ethics Committee completes its investigations into the matter.

Following the GFA’s announcement a local media outlet, GhanaWeb, reported that Nana Yiakwan, one of the two officials invited to the hearing by the GFA’s Ethics Committee, had accused the team manager of Wa Africa United (of which Nana Yiakwan is President) of fixing a match between United and another top tier side, Real Tamale United (RTU). Over the weekend Nana Yiakwan reportedly told Agyenkwa FM, a radio station in Techiman, that Wa Africa United had lost to RTU by just one goal on United’s home ground and that he had been ‘reliably informed’ that Adams had taken money from RTU on the day of the match. Nana Yiakwan allegedly sacked Adams as a result, and further accused Adams of fixing the match against Techiman City, which he claimed to have reported to the GFA.

GhanaWeb reported that Kofi Adams had denied all allegations, saying that he ‘had not’ been sacked, that Nana Yiakwan was a ‘big liar’ and that he was ‘disappointed’ in him. Adams reportedly continued that he did not know how to fix a match, that Nana Yiakwan was ‘just frustrated’ and that he was ‘ready to testify anywhere’ if invited to the case.