Former Ghana international, Odartey Lamptey, says Ghanaian footballers are not motivated to stay in the country’s Premier League because they earn meager salaries.
His comment follows news that about 22 Ghanaian players, including Black Stars 2010 World Cup defender, Lee Addy, are begging the government to help bring them back home as they are stranded in Ethiopia.
Many questioned why Ghanaian players will opt to play Ethiopia, a country that is relatively not known for football development.
But Odartey has jumped to the defence of the players.
According to the former Eleven Wise coach, the players will not go to Ethiopia and other countries to play if their wages in Ghana were good enough.
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“The problem is that players in Ghana think they are not getting enough money here so they go elsewhere. Who are you to advise him not to go? At the end of the day, everyone talks about life after football so you have to take care of yourself,” he said on Joy Sports.
“If we are not able to change our attitude and pay our players well, this thing won’t change. I understand that sponsorship is a problem so some of the clubs find it difficult to pay players but I’m sure we have a lot of huge companies in Ghana.”
He, however, showed his faith in the current Ghana Football Association president, Kurt Okraku. He believes that his administration will find innovative ways to combat the problem.
“With this new FA [led by Kurt], I believe he is doing things behind the scenes. We should be able to bounce back. Clubs should be able to get sponsors and we should be able to pay players well. I was very sad to see the players in the videos from Ethiopia, India and others,” he said.