A 2019 Ghana Football Association (GFA) presidential candidate, Fred Pappoe, has ruled himself out of the 2023 elections of the football governing body.

"No, I won't contest," Mr Pappoe said in a yet-to-be-televised interview with Muftawu Nabila Abdulai on Prime Take.

He explained that it is energy-sapping to campaign for the position of president of the Ghana FA. "I don't have the energy," he says.

In 2019, Mr Pappoe, a former vice president of the FA and Black Stars Management Committee Chairman, won the votes of only six delegates out of 124 members who were eligible to elect a leader despite a CV many described as 'mouthwatering.'

"Delegates know what they vote and what they vote for. I could have even gotten less [than six votes in the 2019 elections]," he revealed.

"Of course, I must respect delegates, I must respect their views, I must respect their choices but what we should understand is that you cannot force somebody to choose and prioritise his parameters.

"Maybe, he will look at something more than what you expect him to look at. He may not necessarily look at track record; there are a whole lot of parameters people look out for," he claims.

Delegates are alleged to have indeed looked beyond the ideas tabled by candidates, with many claiming there were financial rewards for a vote. Mr Pappoe noted the politics have been monetised.

"I think all elections in Ghana are monetised, sadly. You can hardly think of any elections in Ghana that are not monetised.

"I am sure even in churches. All elections are monetised in one way or the other or materialised. If they don't give you money, there might be some material exchange or some expectation of material or financial after or in case your candidacy succeeds," he says.

2019 was the second time the former senior national team Management Committee Chairman lost an election. First, in 2011, he lost the GFA vice presidential post to the late Jordan Anagblah, and the second was in 2019.

With elections monetised and materialised, candidates are expected to induce their choices, but Pappoe held a different view.

"The financial, there were way too many people who came up with all manner of gifts and support for my campaign so the financing was not a problem. 

"So it was not the matter of me not having money, it's a matter of me deciding to spend my money that way."

Did you refuse to spend your money on delegates?

"I could have used the money to do that [influence delegates to vote for me], but I didn't see any reason to spend my money on anybody," he states.

Having occupied a position close to the topmost role of football governance in Ghana, one would have thought he would go all out, but he insists he is not power-hungry.

"I have no regrets that I got six votes at all," he says." I am a freer person now, but my junior brother and good friend, Kurt [Okraku] is carrying the pressure," he laughs. 

Prime Take with Fred Pappoe will air on Sunday at 9 pm, on the Joy News Channel.

https://twitter.com/Muftawu_Nabila/status/1583444504786669569?s=19