A standing ovation worth 50,000 dollars?

(A commentary by William Dodzi Ezah, GNA Sports)

Accra, Nov. 17, GNA - To give someone or an organization a standing ovation may perhaps be a great sign of respect and honour. And for the Ghana Football Association (GFA) led by Kwesi Nyantakyi to give the media a standing ovation for its role in the quarter finals success of the Black Stars at 2010 World Cup at its first press conference held in Accra on return from South Africa was emotional and motivating enough for the media that gathered at the forecourt of the Federation for a post mortem of Ghana's campaign. This was necessitated by an inquiry from one "Cashito" on the

GFA"s reward for the media's role in the Stars' success story that engulfed the continent and won the world over. In responds, Nyantakyi conferred briefly with colleagues on the high table and in a matter of seconds, these "Capos" were on their feet for a standing ovation priced 50,000 dollars. That the gesture was worth 50,000 dollars at the time did not click until the Minister of Youth and Sports, Ms Akua Sena Dansua told Parliament months on that indeed such was the amount taken for a media relations that really never was. For many journalists who covered the World Cup, the revelations are startling, especially because the nature of relationship

between the media and the GFA without doubt connotes different

definition of what media relations ought to be. A lay man's understanding of media relations means; working

with various media for the purpose of informing and educating the

public of an organization's mission, policies and practices in a

positive, consistent and credible manner. Typically, this means coordinating directly with the people

responsible for producing the news and features in the mass media

with the goal to maximize positive coverage in the mass media

without paying for it directly through advertising. In narrowing it down further, Media Relations could also mean

facilitating the work of the media to ensure efficient and effective

coverage of the team at competitions. One may be wrong but from what happened in South Africa, a

large number of Ghanaian media personnel were on their own; as

they had to take care of their own transportation to wherever the

team was, paid for their own accommodation with little or no

support coming from the GFA in those directions under

unfavourable weather conditions. So what was the huge sum of

50,000 dollars used for? It has now been made clear that the money was indeed signed

for and collected by an official of the GFA and it behoves on the

football controlling body to furnish us with details of that venture

called media relations. They might be under no obligation to render accounts to the

media, but in a situation where we were all witnesses to what

happened in South Africa coupled with the mass denial by

journalists who were at the competition, it will be prudent for all to

know the details of the truth or otherwise. The FA's refusal to respond but rather opting to insist the

accounts are yet to be audited is neither here nor there. The General

Secretary, Kofi Nsiah's alleged claim that no one would touch the

money even if it has not been received is ridiculous. Such an interesting response! So why then was the money

signed for and refused to be used on the intended purpose and yet it

is claimed in the Minister's report that it had been utilized? The

doubts are growing and it is strengthened by the fact almost all

sports journalists that covered the competition have denied ever

receiving any form of assistance from the GFA. Ghanaian media predicament was contrary to what persisted in

the camps of other African countries, such as Nigeria, Cote d'Voire

and even Algeria, where a bulk of their media personnel through the

efforts of their Federations were located at one place, offered

transportation to and fro for easy access to the team and even

supplied with replica jerseys and warm cloths of their nations in

solidarity with their teams and for national pride. Interestingly none of these happened to the Ghanaian media and

of the three out of the four press conferences organized by the

GFA; one could hardly remember whether even small bottles of

mineral water was provided by the GFA to the media. On the part of the Minister or her deputy, not once throughout

the Stars participation in the competition did she arrange to meet the

media for interaction as done by her predecessor, likewise the FA

President, so where was the relationship? Without doubt, 50,000 dollars is indeed a lump sum and could

not be a realistic figure for media relations taking into consideration

what the media personnel went through whilst in South Africa thus

making the eye brows been raised justified. The Minister will do the entire nation a lot of good by demanding

details of how the GFA indeed related with the media and make it

public for the necessary discussion to progress since she is the

overall boss. Madam Minister and the GFA and other stakeholders must come

clear on the issue lest we assume the standing ovation was indeed

worth 50,000 dollars since the ministry had made it clear that they

were not sponsoring any media organization to the 2010 South

Africa Mundial and so how come now it is been alleged the media

benefitted from a 50,000 dollar media relations deal.