Are the Black Stars going to Brazil as Participants or Sponsors of the World cup?

After watching Talk Sports interview with Audrey Appiah, the beautiful daughter of the Black Stars Coach, I resolved not to ever criticize Kwasi Appiah again, no matter how bad the Black Stars will play. I am therefore happy that, what I am going to talk about in this piece does not have anything (at least directly) to do with Kwasi Appiah.

Not too long ago, at a time when Ghana was owing nurses 20 months' salary in arrears because we had “chewed the meat to the bone”, the winning bonus of the Black Stars was increased by a huge 50% margin – from USD $10, 000 to $15, 000. I have learnt from media reports that, there is a petition from the Stars demanding HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS PER PLAYER as appearance fees for the World Cup. They are charging the nation GH₵254,250 (more than two point five billion old Ghana cedis). For what? For going to play football matches for 90 minutes at Brazil. Take note, it is not for 90 years, it is 90 minutes. According to Thomas Freeman of All Sports.com.gh, this will be “25% raise on the $75,000 paid in 2010 World Cup. In 2006 they earned $50,000”.

Beside the more than two point five billion old Ghana Cedis demand, the Stars want their recently increased winning bonus to be once again increased from 15, 000 dollars to 18, 000 dollars. This will mean that, just from October 2013, the Stars will see an 80% increment in their winning bonus. Also kindly take note that, the Black Stars of Ghana have signalled that, they will not accept payments of their allowances, bonuses, appearance fees and any of their charges in Ghana Cedis – they want their money in foreign currency!

The President of the Ghana Football Association thinks that, Ghanaians should “be realistic and understand their demand”. Lawyer Nyantakyi persuasively suggests to us as follows: “These players are plying their trade abroad” [and] spend in dollars”. We are in a country where an elephant-size embargo has been placed on the amount of foreign currencies that businessmen and women who also “ply their trade abroad and spend in dollars” (import and export) can access because dollars and euros are in shortage of supply. How then do we become unrealistic and understandable by begging our expatriate stars to receive their bonuses in Cedis? Really? I find no urgency in the demands of the Black Stars and I urge that, President Mahama honours their request with a negative response.

Ghana is going to Brazil to compete with countries like Nigeria, USA, and England for the same trophy. The total budget of oil rich Nigeria is $ 9.5 million, that of US is $ 2million, Algeria is 5.8m and that of Belgium is $ 4.5m. But the Ghana Football Association and Ministry of Youth and Sports are saying that, Ghana cannot go to Brazil, unless the nation parts with 20 million US Dollars – an amount, ten times that of the United States of America – the country that owns the Dollar currency. Note that, the total budget of the four nations named above calculate up to 21.8 million dollars and Ghana alone (one country) is going to expend as colossal as 20 million of the same kind of dollars that USA is using only 2 million, Nigeria 9.5m, Belgium 4.5m, Algeria 5.8m. MAYBE, GHANA IS GOING TO BRAZIL AS SPONSORS NOT AS PARTICIPANTS.

The last time I checked, Ghana's minimum wage was GhC5.24 (USD$ 2.40) per day. So the annual (gross) salary of ordinary Ghanaians like myself (still unemployed though) hovers around 779.68 dollars far less than the 90 minutes 18,000 dollars winning bonus of my merciful Black Stars. As at 2006, the “poverty headcount ratio at national poverty line” was 28.5% according to the World Bank. This 28.5% poor population in Ghana for purposes of clearer elucidation is equal to the whole population of the Ashanti Region which is the most populous region in Ghana now (see the 2010 Population Census Report finalized in May, 2012).

I have captured the tremendous financialization and monetization of football in Ghana – the particular case of the Black Stars as against the socio-economic and poverty challenges that we are being plagued with for all of us as a country to sit back and analyse what we are doing and clap for ourselves. I think we have done well, have we not?

Nobody is saying football is unimportant, but let's all think together and answer if the most appropriate thing to do is to expend our all on less than 30 Ghanaians who are going to serve the Nation for 90 minutes in football matches. If that is what we think is just and proper, let us continue doing that and move on.

I know that, somebody is fuming and accusing me of populism that I am inviting the mouth of the public against the Black Stars, the GFA, the Sports Ministry and maybe the Government. Yea! You are right that is exactly what I seek to do. How can I honourably approve of this imprudent use of my taxes when this same country just recently could not raise $24,205,752 to conduct District Level Elections? Each player of the Super Eagles, Nigerian National Team has been promised 100 million dollars when they WIN THE TROPHY at Brazil, but the Black Stars of my Ghana are charging this same colossal amount merely to APPEAR at the tournament. The richest nation in the world – US is spending 2 million dollars on the same world cup the GFA and Ministry of Youth and Sports want us to spend 20 million dollars on. If I don't campaign against this, what else?

Why must we raise our voices only when it involves politicians?

No doubt, the highest I can do with this my little voice and this piece is to complain. I cannot do much. But my simple message to the President of this country is that, against the backdrop of the innumerable industrial strikes, the indebtedness of the NHIS to uncountable number of hospitals, the state of Kumasi – Accra Road, Ghana's inability to raise money for district level elections, increment in taxes (VAT etc), cost of fuel and utility tariffs and the removal of subsidies from goods and services etc etc in tandem with your call on Ghanaians to sacrifice for the nation, Your Excellency, if you still consider it as fair, just and reasonable, order the Finance Minister to sign out in full all the colossal sums being demanded by the players, GFA and the Ministry of Youth and Sports in the name football.

What will happen after this? Nothing. They will go to Brazil, play the tournament, we will as usual come together as a nation and offer them our utmost support – they may win, they may not and come back after the tournament and we all will continue to live in this country as one people, with one destiny – Ghanaians.

Festival Godwin Boateng
[email protected]