PUMA kits for Black Stars, other national teams locked up at KIA

With only three weeks to another 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifier, the Black Stars are in danger of not getting a proper kit to wear if the Ghana Football Association and the Ministry of Youth and Sports do not act swiftly.

This is because official kits sent by PUMA for the Black Stars and the other national football teams have been locked up at the airport for over a month now.

Usually, the GFA would write to the Sports Ministry who then write to the Finance Ministry to give it a waiver since the kits are meant for the national teams.

While that usual process has been done, our checks say the Finance Ministry has yet to respond to the request of the Sports Ministry.

According to information gathered by www.ghanaweb.com, attempts by the Sports Ministry to get the Ministry of Finance to clear the kits at the airport have proved futile.

The continuous delay in clearing the consignment at the airport means the GFA and the Ministry of Youth and Sports run the risk of incurring further charges if the Ministry of Finance does not sanction the clearing of the kits.

The situation is said to have created uneasy calm in the FA and the Sports Ministry since it would be a national embarrassment if the Black Stars wear another brand of kit for the next qualifier against Zimbabwe next month.

PUMA first entered into a sponsorship deal with the Ghana Football Association in 2005 and have remained proud of the African side since the agreement was signed in Accra.

The German kit manufacturers are the official supplier of equipment to all the senior national side of the Ghana Football Association but some of the kits are used for all the other teams including the women’s national sides.