Sports
Slave wages,threat to the local game!
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Years back – some three or more decades ago, domestic football was a sheer delight – drawing thousands to fill the stands on match days.
Quality abound – and even though the players performed their act on relatively pitiably despicable pitches, some tantalizing football freely oozed out from the feet, carving out pretty patterns even to the blind eye.
Those were days when most of the players remained on home soil, not really enthusiastic on joining the ‘exodus bandwagon’ to seek greener pastures.
However, with the Ghanaian economy hitting a slump, especially in the 1980s, players began to file away in droves in the ‘90s as clubs could no longer afford the allowances and salaries of the playing body.
The domestic league was now beginning to suffer from quality play – and by extension poor patronage as empty seats stared in faces of the scanty fans around.
The already harsh situation was made even worse by the fans’ affection for foreign football to the detriment of the local game. None can totally blame the fans who have continuously explained off their decision to quality football in the English, Spanish, German and other elite games in Europe.
Lack of marquee, quality players has also culminated in Ghanaian clubs failing to win laurels in continental football for a long time.
Indeed, the last time a Ghanaian side annexed an African trophy was in 2004 when Hearts of Oak upstaged sworn rivals and fellow compatriots Asante Kotoko to win the CAF Confederation Cup. Kotoko themselves have not tasted African glory since 1983 – some 38 years ago, when they beat Al Ahly of Egypt to lift the African Clubs Championship crown (now CAF Champions League) for the second time.
Year-in-year-out, our players leave their clubs in midstream to clubs in less-endowed football countries that could only pay a notch higher than what they were taking back home.
Some elite clubs in Ghana pay as low as GH¢700 to GH¢2,000 to their top stars who would not shilly-shally to fly out abroad at the slightest opportunity.
President of the Sports Writers Association of Ghana [SWAG], Kwabena Yeboah, is not enthused about the wages of Ghanaian local players.
According to him, the base salary for Asante Kotoko player in the year 2021, for example, should be US$2,000 and not the range of GH¢1,000 to GH¢2,000.
In an interview with Accra-based Starr FM, the veteran broadcaster said the club needed to build the team and sustain the players for a period of five to six years and also attract players from outside the jurisdiction of Ghana, describing the salaries of the club’s players as ‘slave wages’ which must be improved.
“If you really want to attract the best material, you must pay very well. What we pay players right now in Ghana, for me in blunt language, are slave wages.
“You cannot pay a Kotoko player you want to make a mark in Africa, and consistently wins matches for you a GH¢1,000, GH¢2,000. It’s a joke. The least any Kotoko player deserves, especially the starting players, is US$2,000 because you have your players leaving for Benin, to other parts of Africa because they’ve been cajoled and lured by US$1,000 a month because they cannot receive that kind of money here; so they will definitely leave.
“If you want to compete, I’m saying that the starting base [salary] should be US$2,000 as you look to improving the amount. Until we start doing that, our players will continue to leave in numbers – and we’ll continue to mark time.”
The SWAG President’s assertion might sound unrealistic and impracticable to some club owners, but looking more intently, that is plain talk from the iconic broadcaster. Rather, he is being super realistic. Truth is that, things have changed and we cannot afford to do run affairs of our clubs the way we were doing some decades back.
Our local players have howled for far too long and it is high time club owners put their act together and see how best to plant some smiles on the faces of these actors as regards their remunerations and allowances.
Until that is done, expect our players to head off in droves – at the slightest opportunity – as they yearn for better living condition.
Nearly nine months in office as executive of the Ghana Boxing Federation (GBF), the Dauda Fuseini-led administration is yet to make an important appointment to fill a key position-Public Relations Officer.
It is, therefore, worth examining how the executive has managed to navigate several storms without an official Public Relations Officer (PRO) to communicate its side of stories to the public.
What this mean is that nature has a way of filling such vacuums. They do not stay as such for long.
That is exactly what is happening at the GBF with controversies that followed another poor performance by the Ghana amateur boxing team, the Black Bombers or generally, Team Ghana at the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games.
The controversy followed questions about the criteria for selection of boxers into the national team- that exercise should surely rest on the shoulders of the Head Coach of the team; in this case Coach Ofori Asare.
In instances where there are technical teams in place, the Head Coach would be required to conduct the exercise with members of the team.
But when the Black Bombers perform poorly and the Head Coach claims he has no idea about how the boxers were selected, certainly it leaves doubts in the mind of followers and stakeholders as to what is happening at Dauda Fuseini’s GBF.
Without a response from the GBF, a PRO from the previous administration filled that vacuum; stepping into the role with vim and vigour but with whose authority or permission, it has not been established.
This former PRO may have assumed the role out of his love and passion for the sport. Across both radio and television, he did his advocacy for the GBF until his status was questioned by the legendary broadcaster Fiifi Banson on Sporty FM.
“Are you a member of the GBF?” was the first question by the broadcaster.
And his response was “No, I’ve been a communicator for the Federation officially from 2020, and I’m still doing advocacy for them.”
“But you’re not a member of the GBF?” was the next.
Again, he responded in the negative, explaining that “I’m not an elected member of the GBF. I was appointed in 2020 with an official letter as their communicator and I’ve been doing that since 2020.”
The next question was: “Do they recognise you as their official communications person?
“Of course, the president and I communicate and he has not told me anything otherwise,” was his answer.
One would therefore ask why a ‘boxing advocate’ should be subjected to this kind of cross-examination.
The answer is simple; it is because Dauda Fuseini has failed to make an appointment to fill that void since he ascended the GBF throne in December 2025.
This must be brought to his attention because the office of the PRO is one that should not be taken for granted.
If the issues of the GBF are left to ordinary boxing aficionados, they would end up causing more harm than good to the GBF.
And maybe, with an official spokesperson in place, the federation can issue a comprehensive statement addressing preparation and selection of boxers to the Games and whether indeed Coach Asare was involved or not.
By Andrew Nortey
The Ghana Taekwondo Federation (GTF) on Tuesday presented citations to the president of the Ghana Olympic Committee (GOC), Mr Richard Akpokavie and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Sports Authority (NSA) Mr Yaw Ampofo Ankrah.
The gesture, according to Mr Frederick Lartey Otu, was to appreciate the support the federation had enjoyed from them over the years.
Especially to him were the advice and supervision the two entities offered in the build-up and during the GTF’s Elective Congress held on July 18.
Presenting the citation, Mr Lartey Otu thanked Mr Akpokavie and Mr Yaw Ampofo Ankrah for the special interest shown by the GOC and the NSA to ensure that the election went smoothly.
“We had a very fair and peaceful election. It may not have been possible without the roles you played. The process was very transparent, thanks to what you did for us.”
According to Mr Lartey Otu, special requests were made to the GOC and NSA to select representatives to constitute an election and vetting committee to make the exercise very transparent.
He said the GTF would continue to work closely with the two agencies responsible for sports development and promotion and continue to solicit their support in the bid to develop Taekwondo across all the regions of Ghana.
Responding on behalf of the GOC President, the Secretary General of the GOC, Mr Mohammed Kassim, thanked Mr Lartey Otu for the gesture.
“This is certainly not a presentation to the GOC President alone. We see it as a reward for our team work. That is how federations are supposed to work. It will ensure unity among the hierarchy,” he said.
Mr Kassim urged the new GTF executive to remain focused on their mandate and work hard to realise the dream for which they sought the help of delegate to assume office.
On his part, Mr Yaw Ampofo Ankrah, on behalf of the NSA thanked the GTF boss for the gesture.
He commended the peaceful manner the election was held and hoped that other federations would take useful lessons to better the process.
“The GTF showed a great deal of maturity and respect during the election. That is what we expect to see at the other federations. I want to urge you to build a succession plan to make your transition processes easier,” he stated.
Mr Ankrah pledges the NSA’s support in implementing their plans and programmes ahead of other impending major competitions.
BY ANDREW NORTEY
