Nyantakyi's GFA used to spend $10,000 per game on medicals for Black Stars - Nii Lante Vanderpuye

Nii Lante Vanderpuye clashes with GFA officials

Ex-Sports Minister makes allegations against Black Stars players

Ghana to play Nigeria in World Cup play-off

Former Sports Minister, Edwin Nii Lante Vanderpuye has disclosed that the government used to spend $10,000 on medications for the Black Stars players for every game.

Nii Lante Vanderpuye said that he was alarmed to notice that the country was spending such amount on medicals for the team.

Nii Lante Vanderpuye said that one of the decisions he took immediately he took over as Minister was to implement cost-cutting measures.

The initiative saw massive cuts in expenditure on the Black Stars in areas such as ‘way and means and medicals’.

“When I became a minister I cut down our budget from almost $960,000 to $520,000. We took out ways and means. We were using almost $10,000 per match for medicals and I asked them if they were buying drugs for the whole Korle Bu. It had to take someone to tell them, we would not agree to this, we would not do that,” he said.

Nii Lante Vanderpuye also alleged some players of the Black Stars impressed on him to pay bribes referees to aid the team win matches.

He added that the officials sent the players to come and convince him as a minister to pay the “unclassified payments” made to referees before games when he decided that the government won’t make such financial commitment under his watch.

“Players came to sit with me and Kwabena they told me that Minister we agree on all these things but as for this match if you say you shall not allow the officials to pay the money then we will not qualify.”

“Meaning the players themselves have it in mind that before we can qualify competition, then the referee must be bribed and this happens even in our local league where players have been made to believe that home games are a must-win but the away games are not.”

He added that ministers who don’t agree to the payment of monies to referees are often blamed for the Black Stars’ inability to qualify for major tournaments.

"So if you don’t allow that to happen, then you are the one who has caused the team to perform poorly,” Edwin Nii Lante Vanderpuye added in an interview on GTV Sports+’s Saving Our Passion show.