Afriyie-Ankrah: Gov’t Won’t Sponsor Supporters To Brazil

The hopes of some Ghanaians to benefit from government’s benevolence to travel to Brazil to watch the Black Stars of Ghana play at the World Cup have been dashed by a caveat from Youth and Sports Minister, Elvis Ankrah.

In an interview on the morning show of Radio Gold, an Accra based radio station, Mr. Ankrah said Cabinet had met on the issue and decided that government should not fund the travel of any Ghanaian that seeks to travel to the World Cup.

However, he disclosed that government was liaising with Corporate Ghana to extend its responsibilities to some recognized supporters unions to enable them go to Brazil to cheer the Stars. He said this gesture is in recognition of the role fans play in ensuring victory for the team. Shedding more light on this opening, Mr. Ankrah stated that only 300 members of recognized supporters unions that have demonstrated consistency in supporting the national teams over the years, stating that the union should have done that for at least some three years.

Expressing his unhappiness at the turn of events, he said he wished many more fans could be airlifted but resources are limited and more so, the negative publicity over the issue have compelled government to take that action. Many Ghanaians had been looking forward to travelling to Brazil to watch the senior national team, the Black Stars, on the government’s ticket as was done in 2010 when many fans had the luxury of being transported to Brazil free of charge to cheer the Stars.

This time around, the public outcry against the act, considered by many as wasteful in the face of economic challenges, has caused government to rethink the decision.

Mr. Ankrah also touched on funding for lesser known sports, assuring them of his ministry’s support but appealed to corporate bodies to come on board to uplift some of those sports.