Black Stars AFCON bonus package reviewed upwards?

Sports News of Saturday, 10 January 2015

Source: dailySoccerGhana.com

Mahama Ayariga Pensive

The Sports Ministry has resolved to revert to the US$10,000 bonus package for Black Stars players at the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations after quietly reviewing the initially proposed amount, DailySoccerGhana.com sources have revealed.

The latest decision by the Sports Ministry follows a meeting between the Ghana FA and the Black Stars players over the government’s decision to slash the bonus package by 50%, where the senior national team players refused to accept the amount.

It has emerged that the $5,000 bonus packaged proposed earlier was not an approved amount by cabinet at the time Deputy Sports Minister, Vincent Oppong Asamoah, decided to state in an interviews that the Black Stars players must either accept the amount or refuse the call-up.

If the Sports Ministry had not reviewed the bonus package, each Black Stars player would have been paid US$5,000 after each game whether Coach Avram Grant’s side records a win or a loss.

The Ghana FA are relying on the US$3. 1 million earned from the 2014 World Cup to pre-finance the Black Stars AFCON 2015 campaign following delays by the Finance Ministry to release the budgeted sum to the nation’s football governing body before January this year.