Sports Minister reveals refusal to grant FA’s wishes during Satellites match

The Minister of Youth and Sports, Nii Lante Vanderpuye, has revealed that he had to say no to certain requests that the Ghana Football Association made during the game involving Ghana and Senegal in the African U-20 Championship qualifier played at the Cape Coast Stadium on Friday.

The match ended 1-0 to Ghana but it was not enough to send the Black Satellites to the 2017 African Youth Championships after they lost 3-1 in the first leg in Dakar.

The Sports Minister said on Adom TV's “Fire For Fire” sports programme that he turned down requests from the Ghana Football Association but he did not precisely say what they wanted.

“The FA during the game against Senegal wanted me to do things which I refused. I stated clearly to them that I will not be involved in certain acts.

“And so I refused to do those things which they asked me to do during the game against Senegal.”

He went on to refute claims that his outfit did not do its bit to help the team make it through to next year's African Youth Championships in Zambia.

Earlier on Monday, Alhaji Sadugu, a member of the management committee, said on Happy FM that the Sports Ministry did not offer enough motivation for the players and that played a part in their elimination. But the Minister said that was not the case.

“I don't want to reveal things on air. I don't want to say certain things on the radio. I don't know the kind of motivation the Black Satellites management committee member is talking about.”

“We gave them all they needed. We allowed them to choose their own hotel and made sure they felt very comfortable.”

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By: Citi Sports Desk