There is the $46,000 meant to be used to pay the bonuses of the Black Stars who disappeared under mysterious circumstances in 2001.
There is also the forced resignation of Muntaka Mubarak, then Minister of Sports, after he was accused of demanding GHc 12,000 for his baby’s diapers and mouthwash at the taxpayer’s expense.
Below, Pulse Sports takes a look at five shocking scandals that rocked sports in Ghana:
Paralympic athletes on the run after traveling to Norway to compete
It was a day of shame when it was revealed that some para-athletes traveling for the Fjordkraft Bergen City Marathon escaped after crashing in Oslo.
A statement from the Ministry of National Security said that 11 athletes were supposed to appear in the marathon but did not even manage to register for the race.
One member of the squad was arrested trying to enter Sweden, while the team’s coach, Giorgos Gyamfi Gyasi, also died in hospital after collapsing. The National Paralympic Committee (NPC) later revealed that the team that traveled to Norway were cheaters.
The 2014 World Cup fiasco and the $3 million flight to Brazil
The Black Stars’ run at the 2014 World Cup was marred by overdue bonus issues, with players even threatening a boycott ahead of the team’s final group game against Portugal.
In an attempt to resolve the situation, the Ghanaian government incredibly flew a plane with $3 million in cash to be disbursed to the players, an embarrassing sum that was filmed live on Brazilian television as the plane headed for the team’s hotel. Later, defender John Boye was filmed kissing the bonus part.
Deaf group caught singing jama in Australia
Also in 2009, a supposedly deaf team invited to Australia for a soccer tournament was later caught singing after winning one of their games. As it turned out, the group was full of able-bodied people who were neither deaf nor dumb.
The incident caused great embarrassment in Ghana, with Deaf Football Australia even threatening to drag the Ghana Association of Sports for the Disabled (ASBOD) to the International Sports Confederation for the Disabled (ISCD) for sanctions.
Australian visa scandal sees 8 deported after impersonating journalists
Meanwhile, during the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Australia, some Ghanaians traveled to the Games posing as journalists after the visa was facilitated by officials of the National Sports Authority (NSA).
Australian authorities, however, caught them and deported eight people. CID investigations identified the deported persons as Nana Amoah Poku Mensah, a parts dealer. Ransford Baffour, Merchant; Kwabena Kyere, a carpenter; Ndaa Abdul-Malik, car dealer. Musah Jahil Macro, businessman; Mohammed Shafiu Adamu, farmer; Augustina Agyekumwaa, saleswoman, and Dorothy Agyekum, beautician.
Nania FC and the score 31-0 in the promotion playoff match
In 2007, Ghanaian football witnessed one of its most controversial and embarrassing matches ever when Nania FC played against Okwawu United in a Division One match.
Nania, managed by Abedi Pele, were looking to win promotion to the Ghana Premier League and were level with Great Mariners going into the last match of the Middle League.
Games between Nania FC and Okwawu United, and Mighty Jets and Great Mariners, were played simultaneously, ostensibly to prevent any match-fixing scenes.
Nania ended up beating Okwawu United 31-0 in what was clearly a match of opportunity at Sekondi Gyandu Park, while Great Mariners also beat Mighty Jets 28-0. All four teams were later fined and banned by the Ghana FA.
