Sports Minister: We don’t have funds to pay Black Stars the usual winning bonus

Nii Lantey Vanderpuye wants the Black Stars to accept any token that the nation will offer them against Rwanda

Youth and Sports Minister, Nii Lantey Vanderpuye has indicated that government doesn't have money to pay the usual winning bonuses to Black Stars when they secure victory against Rwanda.

Ghana, who have already qualified for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations to be held in Gabon will face Rwanda in the final hurdle on Saturday in Accra.

Nii Lantey Vanderpuye, after the Coach Avram Grant had invited the 23-man squad for the tie, ordered that few foreign based players should be called for the encounter, since the results will not have any consequence on the qualification and moreover the nation at the moment is facing financial challenges, so can't afford their airfares

However, the players have volunteered to take care of their airfares and Andre Ayew has also promised to pay for the tickets of those who can't afford.

The Sports Minister has lauded the effort of the foreign based players to serve their nation but added that government doesn't have money to pay them the usual winning bonuses.

'That's a very patriotic duty,' he said in an interview with Joy FM.

'We have limited resources that would have made us pay something to those local players that we are requesting that they use,' stated Mr. Vanderpuye.

'To avoid the complications,' he continued 'we don't have funding to pay plane tickets; we don't have funding to pay the amount of money we pay as winning bonuses to foreign based players.'