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05.09.2012 Sports News

Glico Cushions Appiah

05.09.2012 LISTEN
By Daily Guide

Glico Group of companies yesterday presented a Group Life insurance and personal pension cover and a cheque for GHC2,000 to Black Stars coach Kwasi Appiah at the GFA Secretariat in Accra.

The cover, according to the insurance company, was to honour and motivate the coach as he takes the mantle to steer the national football team to greater heights.

The package included a 24-hour protective Life Insurance cover of GHC50,000 annually during the entire period of his appointment, and a knock-about monetary gift of GHC2,000 to help him settle comfortably into his new role.

He will also benefit from a pension account under the up-coming Glico Industrial Pension Scheme with a seed deposit of GHC1,000 to help provide him with a comfortable retirement and Glico branded T-Shirts for his personal use.

The General Manager of Glico Pensions Dr Francis Sapara-Grant, at the function, appealed to football administrators in the country to pay more attention to the retirement needs of their footballers in order to ensure that they live dignified lives when they are unable to pursue their careers.

'As you are all aware, Glico Group has been long associated with the general growth and development of sports in Ghana, and football in particular due to the socio-economic impact of this sport, which has often served as platform for promoting patriotism and dampening social tensions.

'We have accordingly taken the appointment of coach Appiah to the high office of Black Stars coach with keen interest, more so that he is one of our own who has been given the rare opportunity in recent times to showcase the talent of Ghanaians at the international level,' he added.

Coach Appiah thanked Glico immensely for the gesture, stating, 'I was surprised when I heard about the package because such things hardly do happen in Ghana. I really thank them from the bottom of my heart.

'A lot of players suffer when they quit the game due to ill health, poverty and unemployment.'

He urged the FA to push clubs to take insurance on their players seriously and pointed out that the gesture will urge him to give off his best for the team.

Coach Appiah, a former Black Stars captain, mentioned that he will give back GHC1,000 to the Retired Footballer Association of Ghana (RENFAG)  and GHC500 apiece to ailing coaches Jones Attuquafio and Emmanuel Quarshie from the 2,000 Cedis cash donation.

Chairman for the occasion Ben Kuofie, former FA boss, praised Glico for the gesture and expressed the hope that Coach Appiah will take the Black stars to a higher pedestal.

George Afriyie, who stood in for FA president Kwesi Nyantakyi, in like manner, thanked Glico for the support and appealed to other corporate bodies to follow suit by adopting other products of the FA like the Black Starlets, Starlets, Meteors, Queens, Princesses and Maidens.

By Kofi Owusu Aduonum
 

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