Youth and Sports Minister, Mustapha Ussif, has revealed that only $2 million has been raised from corporate Ghana to support the senior national team, the Black Stars’ participation at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations [Afcon] and the 2022 FIFA World Cup tournaments.
In April 2021, President Akufo-Addo in a breakfast meeting with corporate Ghana revealed that the Sports Ministry required a sum total of $25 million to support the Black Stars’ Afcon and World Cup Campaigns.
Out of the full amount, government guaranteed $10 million and asked corporate Ghana to help raise the remaining $15 million as promised by Nana Akufo Addo.
After 8 months, the Sports Minister has now revealed that just $2 million has been raised so far and urged institutions that have made pledges to redeem them in due course.
The amount represents just 13% of the $15 million targeted to be raised from corporate Ghana to support the country’s national teams.
“It can be recalled that His Excellency President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo invited corporate Ghana to a breakfast meeting in order to raise about $25m US Dollars to support government’s funding of our various national teams, especially the Black Stars,” Ussif said in a statement to Parliament on Tuesday, December 14, 2021.
“So far, corporate Ghana has supported us to raise about $2m US Dollars, and I want to, on behalf of the President, thank all those who have fulfilled their pledges.
“I also want to appeal to those who are yet to fulfil their pledges to do so because there are many upcoming international competitions for our national teams,” he added.
The Black Stars will hope to end a 40-year wait for the Afcon trophy when they compete in Cameroon in January. They have been housed in Group C alongside Morocco, Comoros and Gabon.
Ghana will camp in Doha ahead of the delayed tournament in Cameroon, where the team will play three friendly games before the start of the tournament.
The Black Stars have also booked a slot in the last round of qualifying for Qatar 2022 where they could be drawn against Nigeria, Algeria, Senegal, Tunisia or Mali for a place at the global football showpiece next year.
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