President of the Ghana Football Association (GFA), Kurt Okraku has clarified that he has no control over the budget for the national team, the Black Stars.
He made this statement during a Parliamentary Select Committee hearing on Monday, September 30, 2024, addressing a petition from the Save Ghana Football Demonstrators.
The controversy surrounding Ghana’s budget for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) has drawn public attention due to the country’s economic challenges.
The government allocated $8.5 million (approximately GHS 105 million) for the tournament, marking one of the highest budgets in the nation’s AFCON history.
Of this amount, $3 million was spent during the Black Stars’ 11-day participation in the competition.
Okraku stressed that, the GFA does not handle the funds for the national team’s campaigns.
“So the FA doesn’t handle money for AFCON. The government of Ghana does not pay money into the FA’s accounts,” Kurt Okraku said.
“The government of Ghana doesn’t pay money directly to the member association called GFA.
“Every amount connected to national team campaigns is paid directly to the Ministry of Youth and Sports, and usually, we are accompanied by what we call the perceholder. So I have no questions to answer on budgeting because I don’t control budgeting,” he added.
The Black Stars were eliminated in the group stage of the AFCON tournament, held in Ivory Coast.