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Opponents of the government who were well prepared to pounce on the Mahama administration over how much it would give the Ghana Football Association (GFA) for the World Cup in Brazil have been sent the other way. Even before the government would come out to approve the budget the GFA presented to it, there was hue and cry over the amount of cash that would be doled out to the FA. The Ministry of Youth and Sports did not help matters when that outfit could not handle the situation and left the door ajar for government to be insulted. In fact, some elements at their best bundled falsehoods that officials want to use the World Cup as �Goldmine� to make money. Initially, there were wild rumors that government would dole out as much as $20million towards the Mundial when indeed there were no such plans. Interestingly, both the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the GFA could not tell Ghanaians that such figures were machinations of some elements and do not represent the true picture. Finally, the government approved GH24,677,025 as the total budget for the Black Stars for their participation in the World Cup in Brazil in June, this year. A breakdown of the total amount indicates that for the first group stage of the competition, Cabinet approved GH10,500,000 to the Ministry of Youth and Sports to finance Ghana�s participation. What is special; and fascinating is that the earlier practice of quoting bonuses and other expenses in dollars has been cancelled. For subsequent stages of the competition, a further amount of GH14,177,025 has also been budgeted to cover the team�s expenses if they qualify. This brings government commitment to the Black Stars participation in the first group stage of the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil,� a press release signed of the 2014 Information & Media Relations, Mahama Ayariga, read. �A further amount of GH14,177,025 has also been budgeted to cover the teams expenses when they qualify for subsequent stages of the competition. �This brings Government Commitment to the Black Stars� participation to a total of GH24,677,025. Cabinet has expressed great confidence in the Ghana Black Stars and its technical team and is satisfied with the preparations made so far towards Ghana�s participation in the World Cup in Brazil. Every budget for Ghana�s World Cup participation resurrects a ritual of debate over whether the amount is prudent for a one-month long competition or an overly wasteful outlay of scarce resources. This year has not been an exception. Circling media reports had claimed the Ghana Football Association submitted a budget of around US$20 million to the Ministry of Youth and Sports for approval. News of it unleashed a familiar 'Ghana is too poor� chorus and a melody of an impending malfeasance at the World Cup. The GFA and the Minister of Sports, Elvis Afriyie Ankrah, had kept silent and only assured the amount would be made public soon. Ghana had a budget of $19 million approved for the last edition of the World Cup in South Africa in 2010 and spent only $9million. The Black Stars reached the quarter-final stage of the competition and brought back $1million which means the country made a profit of $2million for its participation in the competition.