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A member of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Sports, Vincent Ekow Assafuah, has revealed that the full budget for the Black Stars’ World Cup qualifying matches against Chad and Madagascar is still unknown to the committee.
Assafuah explained that so far, they have only been given details about the wages of the coaching staff and players, but the complete financial plan for the games has not been shared.
In an interview on Metro TV, he explained:
We are not aware of the full budget for the Black Stars as we speak. The only information that has been provided to the committee is the breakdown of salaries for the coaches and staff, such as the assistant coaches and team managers. These details were made available, but the actual budget for the games has not been shared with us.
Earlier this year, President John Mahama, in his State of the Nation Address, promised that the Black Stars' budget would be made public to promote transparency.
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However, Assafuah played down the importance of this promise, saying it is not much different from what has happened in the past.
This promise isn’t anything groundbreaking. In previous administrations, ministries and the Ghana Football Association (GFA) have always disclosed the amount of money spent on the Black Stars after matches have been played. So, the real change would be if the government starts disclosing the budget before the matches take place.
Sports Minister's stand on releasing budget
Meanwhile, the Minister of Sports and Recreation, Kofi Adams, has assured the public that the budget will be made public soon.
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Adams argued that releasing the budget before the Black Stars’ double World Cup qualifiers victory over Chad and Madagascar would have distracted the team.