Lack Of Funds Hampers Satellites' Preparations

The Ministry for Youth and Sports has presented a supplementary budget to the Ministry of Finance, to fund the activities of the youth national team, the Black Satellites and the Under 17 national team the Black Starlets. The two teams are preparing for major continental competitions but the Sports Ministry says it is cash strapped.

The ministry’s budget for the national football teams is overstretched and it has therefore become necessary to source additional funds.

Meanwhile, the black Satellites are reeling under the no money stance of the Ministry for Youth and Sports and have called off a training tour of Mali. Reports reaching myjoyonline say the technical handlers of the Black Satellites are grumbling on the quiet about having to chuck some important items on their program as they fine tune for Burkina Faso.

The tournament draw put them in what analysts describe as the group of death against Egypt, Morocco and Cote D’Ivoire. To survive the death knell in the group, the Satellites handlers planned a trip to Mali two weeks before the tournament in Burkina Faso to help the team to acclimatize to the weather conditions, which are similar to Burkina Faso, the host country.

While in Mali the Satellites were scheduled to play Stade Malien and FC Djoliba. The Satellites would have also engaged their Malian counterparts in a friendly before the major competition.

But the Ministry says there is not enough money to fund the trip to Mali has therefore asked the GFA to review the training program. But a member of the Satellites planning committee Mr. Kwasi Acheampong says canceling the Mali program will have an adverse effect on the Black Satellites.

With the trip called off the Satellites would have to play local opposition. Perhaps the satellites can pitch camp in Northern Ghana where the weather conditions are closer to that of Burkina Faso. But Owuahene Acheampong contends that the issue has two faces. One has to do with formidable opposition and the other with acclimatization.

Now that the Mali trip has been called off and Northern Ghana looks less likely to be a camp destination, the Satellites are planning a friendly against the national team of Gabon and other local matches. But it’s certainly a bad patch in the their preparations for the Burkina Faso tournament.