Ghana did
not win the Afcon, and its citizens are unhappy over mounting bonuses being
splashed on the team.
But the
nation's Youth and Sports Minister Mahama Ayariga has defended the $25,000
bonus announced for each player on Tuesday.
"Anybody
who thinks the money from [the team sponsor Ghana National Petroleum
Corporation is too much should have been there when the players were under
attack from irate fans," the minister tells supersport.
The minister
speaks of the semifinal played at the Estadio de Malabo where an atmosphere
akin to a 'war-zone' - in the words of the Ghana FA - was created.
"I wish
they were in the stadium and then they will know whether $25,000 is worth that
kind of experience," Ayariga charged.
In fact, the
minister wants more corporate bodies to offer the Black Stars incentives for
reaching the final of the Nations Cup.
"We are
not a serious country," Cyndy Lamiorkor, a fan, fumed. "We have a
crippling electricity problem and our people our just wasting money on players
who already have money."
Another,
James Akonnor, weighed in. "Ghana is a country in crisis and in as much as
we need to reward them, these amounts are too much."
A similar
story is playing out in Germany where €46,000 was given each player for winning
the Nations Cup in addition to a house worth the same.
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