Kwasi Appiah
The country’s football governing body, Ghana Football Association (GFA), has stated clearly that coaches’ remuneration is the sole responsibility of the Youth & Sports Ministry.
The FA’s statement was in response to the former Ghana coach’s request for his five-month accumulated $175,000 salary.
It came up earlier in the week that Coach Appiah has tried without success to get his outstanding bonuses and salaries from the FA since leaving office in January.
But the FA maintains it is the Sports Ministry that is responsible for paying Black Stars coaches, and not the football governing body.
The Head of Communications at GFA, Henry Asante Twum, told BBC Africa that the GFA “does not pay the coach – it’s the state that pays the coach.
The GFA is the employer of the head coach of the national team but his salary is paid by the state. He wrote to the GFA and we forwarded his letter to the ministry.
“It is the ministry that must pay him, not the GFA.
“Kwesi Appiah has been in and out of the Black Stars for so many years and he knows that it is not the FA that pays him. It’s very strange to read what is going round because it’s not the FA that pays the head coach of Black Stars, it is the government of Ghana. That has been the constitution. The government owes him.”
“I did not sign any contract with the government or the ministries, I signed with the football association. I know the government supports the FA in payments of players’ bonuses and travel funds but I am not supposed to be chasing the Ministry of Sports because I do not have a contract with them but the FA,” Coach Appiah stated.
Indications are that Coach Appiah is considering taking the case up with FIFA or seek legal action at the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) if the GFA continues to ignore his appeal.
“At the moment, it has not come to that. But if they don’t take notice of the second letter, then my lawyers will advise on taking it to FIFA or go to court,” he said in an interview.
“Wherever the FA can get the money to pay me, let them do that. I know they have some monies in their accounts from last year up till now. I feel the debt should be settled,” he said.
Appiah, whose second stint lasted two-and-half years, ended last December and was replaced by his assistant, Charles Akonnor.
Meanwhile, the GFA has recently received a $500,000 emergency fund from world football’s governing body, FIFA.
By Kofi Owusu Aduonum