Diaspora News of Tuesday, 7 October 2014

Source: Edmund Agbeko

Don’t send fans here for Women’s World Cup - Ghanaians in Canada

Ghanaian residents in Toronto, Canada, have expressed their disbelief at the shocking revelations being exposed at the ongoing Presidential Commission which is investigating the abysmal participation of the Black Stars at the 2014 World Cup tournament in Brazil.

During the Presidential Commission, Elvis Afriyie-Ankrah, former Minister of Youth and Sports admitted that he regrets sending supporters to Brazil to support the Black Stars. For instance, $135,000 was supposedly blown on just food items purchased from Redemais, a supermarket in Brazil and again forking out nearly $20,000 to an Angolan agent in Brazil just for using his account to transfer funds to Brazilian service providers.

Speaking to 90 MINUTES’ Edmund Agbeko in Toronto, Canada, a ‘knocked for six’ George Akuamoah queried: “What was the importance of sending supporters to Brazil when they [Ministry of Youth and Sports] knew it was going to cost the nation a lot. It would have been ideal for Ghana as a nation to use that money to refurbish hospitals and schools. Events’ coming from the commission makes it really difficult to believe if Ghana is really worth dying for. In this light I will applaud the Canadian Embassy in Ghana for not issuing visas to those who wanted to come here to watch the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup. I will also urge the Embassy not to issue visas for those who are planning to come here in Canada to support the Black Queens for next year’s World Cup because, we have a lot of Ghanaians in Canada who can support the team. ”

Kwame Frimpong who also stays along the Jane Street & Wilson Avenue in Toronto added: “We don’t want any supporters group to come here because we have the numbers here to support the national team.”