Ghana’s 2022 World Cup performance is rated by many as one of the country’s worst performances at a major tournament, but it appears the country spent an outrageous amount of money on the team that suffered a group stage exit.
According to a report by Fentuo Tahiru, the delegation were the main beneficiaries, including the ministry’s purse holder, who was paid $10,000.
He indicated that the Ghana Football Association’s (GFA) budget to the ministry included 54 people who earned $100,000 each as appearance fees.
The 54 people included the 28 players, the Black Stars management committee members, 22 technical team members, GFA officials, among others.
Additionally, head coach Otto Addo’s Personal Assistant (PA) was reportedly paid $20,000 for the tournament.
“Just got hold of a detailed breakdown of the GFA’s budget they presented to the Sports Ministry for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, and some of the things on there are interesting. For example, Otto Addo’s personal assistant was paid $20,000. He/she earned the same amount as Ghana’s scouts.
“The ministry’s purse holder was paid $10,000 for doing his job. And the most mind-blowing line item of them all was the $100,000 appearance fee for, wait for it, FIFTY-FOUR (54) people. There were 26 players—meaning beyond the players, 28 others were budgeted to be paid $100,000 each. Who are these people?” Fentuo quizzed in a post on Twitter.
Meanwhile, Alhaji Grusah, who was a management committee member for the World Cup, also alleged that the GFA demanded a 50% kickback of the $100,000 appearance fee paid to him.
“I was the one who made it public that we received $100,000 because people did not want to disclose it. After we were given the money, the GFA wanted a 50% kickback,” he told Sporty FM.
“They called me and said they wanted to share it with some people who did not go to the World Cup, but that was not the original arrangement. If you were born in Ghana, pray to God to give you daily bread because it is not easy,” he said.
In 2022, the then Minister of Youth and Sports, Mustapha Ussif, announced a budget of $14.1 million for the Black Stars’ campaign in the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
Although the official budget did not capture appearance fees paid to the team and the GFA, he stated that at the group stage level, Ghana’s “appearance will cost an estimated 8.1662 million US dollars” from the total amount budgeted for the tournament.
The Black Stars exited the tournament at the group stage, winning one game and losing two out of the three matches played. As a result, they finished bottom of their group.
Source: www.ghanaweb.com
