Examining The Importance of Public Relations in Football Clubs - A Case of Clubs in Wa, Ghana

Abstract

This study examined the relevance of public relations practices among division one football clubs in Wa Municipality in the Upper West Region of Ghana namely; Wa Yaasin FC, Wa Suntaa SC and Maana SC. The study, informed by the system theory, employed the qualitative method of research design, using interviews as the main data collection tool to find out the relevance of public relations amongst football clubs in Wa Municipality in the Upper West region of Ghana. The study also sought to find out the communication channels used by football clubs in Wa Municipality, the commercial value of these football clubs and how public relations can be used to improve the fortunes of football clubs in the Municipality. The analysed data from the study established that management of the football clubs confirmed public relations as a managerial wing that linked the clubs to various stakeholders such as the supporters, sponsors, Ghana Football Association (GFA) officials and the media. It was further established that club owners undervalued the contribution of public relations to the administration of their clubs as evidenced in the poor composition and insufficient resources for the PR units. It was found out that social media as the most dominant communication tool with other communication media include physical meetings, communiques and mailing. Conclusively, social media, physical meetings and electronic mails were the most used communication channels whiles Chief Executive Officers of the studied football clubs all accepted public relation as a strong tool for modern football administration. The study therefore recommends Ghana Football Association to make it a policy for all division one football clubs to have standard PR department with logistics to fully function. It also recommended that PR officials and other officials be given in-service training at the end of every football season to equip them with knowledge in their chosen sectors of specialization.