Herbert Mensah
A former chairman of Kumasi Asante Kotoko Hebert Mensah says the Ghana FA’s proposed budget for AFCON 2013 which provides winning bonuses for management members, is immoral.
According to him the proposal is not in the best interest of the sport and the nation. The Ghana Football Association has presented a proposed budget of 8 million dollars for its impending campaign at the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa.
The Nations cup takes place from January 19 to February 20, and the Ghana FA wants $6.66 million to help in the trophy chase. Before then, the Black Stars has a scheduled pre-tournament camping in Abu Dhabi from January 7-18, which will cost $1.06 million.
The proposed budget which has had the public divided due to the amount involved, is being reviewed by the Ministry of Youth and Sports which will soon approve or reject it.
But renowned football administrator Hebert Mensah says the budget should be scraped off because it is wrong for officials to earn winning bonuses as the playing body.
“When I was at kotoko, I prevented every management member from taking winning bonuses as players, I was very clear that the playing body are the playing body, they need to be motivated and looked after especially when you don’t have unlimited funding and in the case of Ghana football not enough is been done for the game in general”. He told JOY Sports.
“I believe that, there should be a different set of motivational targets for management members which must deal with productivity of the pitch and deal with bringing in sponsorship for the game”
“For me to take money as part of a winning bonus structure from the playing body when the rest of the game is been mismanaged, I think is immoral. I have run football before and I never took winning bonus”.
“Why don’t you set the parameters of operation such that the targets of managers is based on productivity”.
Hebert Mensah was CEO of defending Ghana league champions Asante Kotoko in the early 2000′s