This is, in essence, a dirty tale we are all too familiar with: of the incredibly huge amount of monies always allocated to the Black Stars whenever a major international tournament looms, only for them to go and fail spectacularly. Of how the previous Sports Ministry and GFA connived and conspired to loot taxpayers’ monies by burying their vicious deeds in the Black Stars’ budget.
In a trip down memory lane, as we jog our memories, we are reminded of that distressing Brazil fiasco in 2014. How $3m in cash was flown to the camp of the Black Stars for fear that the players will boycott training if they aren’t paid what is due them. How, for a sustained period, the camp of the senior team was awashed with chaos, greed and confusion: the brutal clash between certain players and some members of the technical staff which gave rise to a tremendous divide.
And so it was no news that the Black Stars crumbled and crashed out from the groupstages in that particular World Cup and returned home to the massive displeasure of the population, who zealously hurled insults at them and cursed and shamed. The principal problem: Money. Soon after, a commission of Inquiry was established and yet their findings and report proved futile.
Half a decade later, the Black Stars’ expenditure for the AFCON 2019 revealed something absolutely startling. Despite being eliminated in the round of 16 by Tunisia, the senior team had managed to spend $4.5m. The exact figure as the prize money for the eventual winners, Algeria. Yet, the breakdown of that expenditure was even more heart-wrenching and left blood boiling and heads spinning. The very fact that both players and the technical staff pocketed over $1.4m in winning bonuses even though the Black Stars prevailed in only one game against Guinea Bissau in the groupstages.
What could have been had the team managed to fashion a few wins, say, 3? Let’s do some quick maths here. According to Isaac Isiamah, the then Minister for Youth and Sports, $6.3m was budgeted for that particular 2019 AFCON. Still, the Black Stars were able to fail spectacularly here, too, despite their fancy, lavish preparation in Dubai. And so it begs the question: why Dubai? Why the compulsiveness to travel to Dubai and have your preparations in one of earth’s most expensive cities.
Obviously, the Black Stars have, without a scintilla of doubt, shown in past international tournaments they are unworthy and undeserving of all these massive investments. For a country which breathes football, eats football, sleeps football, it’s quite perplexing how we have reached a point where many have fallen out of love with the senior team which was once a chief source of joy for the country.
And so, Monday afternoon offered a grim reminder to many of why they fell out of love with the Black Stars in the first place. Of realising how now the Black Stars has become a mega-business space where national team players prioritize enriching themselves whiles a few influential men in that sphere share in their riches.
It is worth noting that, $25m for the Black Stars especially during a period where a deadly virus threatened to wipe out the human race from the surface of the earth is simply ludicrous given the other numerous predicaments faced by the country: of the country’s brittle economy needing life support, of the local league made to rot away, of the untold hardships swallowing the country alive.
Ultimately, it would make absolute sense if an agreement of some sort could be made between the government and the senior team: of terms and conditions agreed upon, of the nature of their financial reward should they clinch the continent’s most coveted trophy, the AFCON. The World Cup remains a long shot, but taking it one step at a time, similar procedures used in the AFCON could provide a blueprint of how to handle budgeting for the senior team. If we genuinely want different results, maybe it’s time to change our approach altogether.
By: Bright Antwi
The views and opinions expressed herein are the private views of the contributor and do not reflect the views of the organization Pulse.