Government has airlifted $3million cash to pay the appearance fee for Black Stars players in the ongoing World Cup tournament in Brazil, Deputy Sports Minister, Joseph Yamin has revealed.
He confirmed that the Black Stars will by Wednesday, June 25, receive the money due them.
Mr. Yamin clarified that the money delayed due to a disagreement over the mode of payment and securing landing right for the chartered plane carrying the money to the senior national team.
Reports on Tuesday from Brazil indicated that the Black Stars were agitating over government�s delay in paying the money due them.
This led to a holding up of the senior national team�s departure for Brasilia where they are scheduled to play their final group match against Portugal on Thursday.
Speaking on Eyewitness News, Mr. Yamin explained that the Ministry wanted to use an e-banking transaction but the players insisted they wanted physical cash payments.
The insistence by the players he said, forced the Ministry to �come back and mobilize the physical cash to be sent to them. Saturday morning, the money was mobilized but a chartered flight to take the money to Brazil is what has delayed the money up until now.�
He admitted that sending such a large amount of money on a chartered flight to Brazil is unwise but �it has been the trend all this while.�
The Deputy Minister maintained that the Ministry was determined to change the status quo to do away with physical cash payments �but the players are still insisting that they wouldn�t take anything but physical cash.�
According to him, it is imperative for the relevant stakeholders in the sports industry to address this matter to prevent future problems.
Mr. Yamin noted that the Black Stars' entrenched position on the issue posed a great deal of challenge to government because �government had to contend with getting permits, getting the reliable flight to be able to send this money across, national security vans would have to be policing this money to the airport��
He added that the Ministry had no other option than to give in to the pressures from the senior national team because government will be blamed if the team does not perform at the tournament.
�The same media will be out there saying that the boys did not perform because their demands were not adhered to,� he said.
The Deputy Minister advised the media to desist from blaming government in such matters because it was only seeking the best interest of the players.
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