5 mind&blowing scandals that have rocked Ghana sports
Ghana has come a long way in terms of sports. While the country is widely regarded as a football nation, other sporting disciplines have also held their own in recent decades.
However, the gains made over the years have often been sandwiched by scandalous moments that tend to subject the nation to international ridicule.
There’s the $46,000 meant to be used to pay the bonuses of the Black Stars that disappeared under mysterious circumstances in 2001.
There’s also the forced resignation of Muntaka Mubarak, then the Sports Minister, after he was accused of demanding GHc12,000 for the diapers and mouth gargle of his baby at the expense of the taxpayer.
In football, the 2023/24 Ghana Premier League season was also hit by a massive scandal when Real Tamale United (RTU) hired unregistered players to impersonate their original squad in their 8-1 defeat against Dreams FC.
Below, Pulse Sports takes a look at five mind-blowing scandals that have rocked sports in Ghana:
Paralympic athletes abscond after travelling to Norway for competition
It was a day of shame when it emerged that some para-athletes who travelled for the Fjordkraft Bergen City Marathon eloped after touching down in Oslo.
A statement from the Ministry of National Security said 11 athletes were supposed to show up for the marathon but failed to even register for the competition.
A member of the contingent was arrested trying to enter Sweden, while the team’s coach, George Gyamfi Gyasi, also died at a hospital after collapsing. The National Paralympic Committee (NPC) later revealed the team that travelled to Norway were imposters.
2014 World Cup fiasco and the $3million flight to Brazil
The Black Stars’ participation in the 2014 World Cup was blighted by issues of delayed bonuses, with players even threatening a boycott before the team’s final group game against Portugal.
In trying to solve the situation, the government of Ghana incredibly flew a plane with $3 million in cash to be disbursed to the players, a disgraceful chapter that was filmed live on Brazil television as the aircraft made its way to the team’s hotel. Later, defender John Boye was filmed kissing his part of the bounty.
Deaf and dumb team caught singing jama in Australia
Also, in 2009, a supposed deaf and dumb team invited to Australia for a football tournament were later caught singing after winning one of their games. As it turned out, the team was full of able-bodied persons who were neither deaf nor dumb.
The incident caused great embarrassment for Ghana, with Deaf Football Australia even threatening to drag the Association of Sports for the Disabled of Ghana (ASBOD) to the International Sports Confederation for the Disabled (ISCD) for sanctions.
Australia visa scandal sees 8 deported after posing as journalists
Meanwhile, during the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Australia, some Ghanaians travelled to the Games posing as journalists after their visa acquisition was facilitated by officials of the National Sports Authority (NSA).
Australian authorities, however, caught them and deported eight persons. Investigations by the CID identified the deported individuals as Nana Amoah Poku Mensah, a spare parts dealer; Ransford Baffour, trader; Kwabena Kyere, carpenter; Ndaa Abdul-Malik, car dealer; Musah Jahil Macro, businessman; Mohammed Shafiu Adamu, farmer; Augustina Agyekumwaa, sales girl, and Dorothy Agyekum, beautician.
Nania FC and the 31-0 scorline in promotion playoff game
In 2007, Ghana football witnessed one of its most controversial and embarrassing matches ever, when Nania FC played against Okwawu United in a Division One game.
Nania, who were being managed by Abedi Pele, were seeking to gain promotion to the Ghana Premier League, and were level on points with Great Mariners going into the last match of the Middle League.
The games between Nania FC and Okwawu United, and Mighty Jets and Great Mariners, were played simultaneously, ostensibly to prevent any match-fixing plots.
Nania ended up beating Okwawu United 31-0 in what was clearly a match of convenience at the Sekondi Gyandu Park, while Great Mariners also walloped Mighty Jets 28-0. All four teams were later fined and banned by the Ghana FA.
