Stars Pay For Their Own Tickets

Players of the Black Stars will have to fund for their own air tickets for Saturday’ African Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier against Rwanda in Accra.

The development comes in the wake of the Ministry’s cry for no funds in its kitty for the game.

Ghana has already qualified for the Gabon 2017 championship and as a result, the Sports Minister Nii Lantey Vanderpuye ordered that coach Avram Grant rely on the local based players instead of their foreign counterparts for the clash.

But the country’s football governing body was of the view that the Minister’s instructions came too late when invitation had gone to the players' respective clubs.

Again, the GFA argued that the Rwanda clash offers coach Grant yet another opportunity to take a critical look at them ahead of the world cup qualifier.

The Minister has stuck to his ground and said in plain words that his outfit is broke, so the coach should fall on the local players for the game to save money.

But GFA scribe Ibrahim Sanie Daara says the foreign based  have offered to pay for their tickets as well as take care of other expenses.

He said on Happy FM that West Ham’s Dede Ayew, who is nursing an injury has promised to purchase tickets for his compatriots  who are not financially sound for the national assignment.

“The game is coming on as planned, the players have decided to sacrifice for the nation by buying their tickets.

“We wrote to the Ministry as has been the practice but they wrote to the travel agent not to issue out tickets if we won’t use local players.”

The Minister hinted that he was no longer doing talking, as has been his style since taking over from Dr Mustafa Ahmed but will act starting with the decision not to buy tickets for the foreign based.

The Minister again questioned why the FA has failed to raise a formidable local side to face Rwanda after claiming that the domestic league is attractive.

By Kofi Owusu Aduonum