Author: Ghana || Starrfm.com.gh || Eugene Ofori Sottie
At the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, the playing body of the Blacks Stars refused to train for their final group stage game against Portugal due to bonus issues bringing shame to the nation and general apathy towards Ghanaian football.
The Ghana Football Association (GFA ) and the Ghanaian government had delayed paying their $100,000 dollars of bonuses and allowances.
Consequently, about 3 million dollars had to be flown from Ghana to Brazil and handed to them before the players returned to training and played their last group-stage game against Portugal. They then exited the group stage of the World Cup for the 1st time in their history.
Ghanaian football legend Asamoah Gyan who was a part of that team concurs that it was a sad spectacle however he believes that it is through their actions that those mistakes have been corrected.
Speaking on Soccer Chat on GHOne TV, Asamoah Gyan explained that, “what happened in Brazil was unfortunate, but our predecessors paved the way and we did same for the next generation to be where they are now”.
“A lot of mistakes were made in the past but now they have been rectified. Now when we’re going into a tournament, these financial issues are sorted out way ahead of time to prevent a repeat of that event in Brazil,” he revealed.
Hitherto, it wasn’t done that way. We will get to a tournament before we begin negotiations (for our bonuses), which will lead to disruptions and loss of focus. It ( the strike) was a blessing in disguise. We did what we had to do for our younger ones to benefit today, he added.
According to him since then, the bonuses and allowances are settled upon at least 2 months before the tournament.
Asamoah Gyan says he is expecting that by now there will be a consensus in negotiations for player bonuses for this year’s World Cup so the players can focus solely on playing football for their nation.
