The Ghana Football Association (GFA) has revealed that it has instructed its lawyers to institute legal action against betting companies which offered bets on the opening round of the Ghana Premier League (GPL) season despite being unauthorized to do so.

The GFA further warned companies, in a statement on its website, to cease offering odds on the outcome of any GPL matches.

At the launch of the GPL season last month, Kurt Okraku, the new President of the GPL, banned operators from offering markets on the GPL or any GFA-run competition without having a license to do so.

The Ghana Football Association issued a statement wherein it strongly warned all betting companies to stop placing bets on the Ghana Premier League or any Ghana Football Association product without authorization from the GFA, failing which the Association will institute legal action against them without further notice.

The statement went on to say that the GFA hereby also wished to alert the national regulator, the Gaming Commission of Ghana, of the illegal activities of their licensed betting companies against the GFA and its members.

Last month Okraku also declared that all participants in domestic football are now banned from participating in betting.

In 2018 ex-president of the GFA Kwesi Nyantakyi was banned from sport for life after being found guilty of breaking corruption and bribery rules.

Ghana Premier League team Elmina Sharks, meanwhile, last month appealed to the GFA to investigate a ‘fake’ friendly that involved their academy, which, according to them was put together for betting purposes.