Bonus not our focus! — Gyan

Skipper Asamoah Gyan and his teammates have resolved to accept the bonus package being offered by government to enable them to focus on the Africa Nations Cup (AFCON) in Equatorial Guinea.

The players promised to avoid the kind of agitation which resulted in Ghana’s infamous World Cup campaign in Brazil last year during the AFCON campaign which begins with the Teranga Lions of Senegal in Mongomo on Monday, January 19.

"I promised them [GFA] that what happened in Brazil is not going to happen again," the Stars skipper told Joy FM in an interview. 

"What we're doing is to just focus on the tournament, play as Ghanaians, and make sure we deliver because that's the most important thing,’’ the Al Ain striker assured. 

Contrary to rumuors that the players had rejected the government’s reviewed winning bonus as an insult and were going to play for free instead, Gyan emphasised that the Sports Ministry’s package was nothing to worry about. 

"There is no money issue for now; everything has been resolved and what we're thinking of is the tournament in Equatorial Guinea", he stressed.

The president of the Ghana Football Association (GFA), Mr Kwesi Nyantakyi, corroborated Gyan’s position in an interview with the Graphic Sports yesterday.

“There is no bonus issue for now. We told the players to go and play and they agreed,” Mr Nyantakyi stated.

That puts paid to the raging debate over the Sports Ministry’s $5,000 per match flat bonus for the Stars at AFCON 2015 instead of the usual $10,000 or even more on some special occasions.

Even before the matter was finally put to rest, rumours were rife that the Stars’ headline sponsor, Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), was ready to top up the Ministry’s bonus to $10,000 for the players.

However, a grapevine source from the GNPC denied knowledge of any such decision when contacted by this paper yesterday.

The source said no such issue had come up for discussion at GNPC as far as it was concerned.

The FA boss also confirmed same when contacted for his view on the subject.

The Stars are currently preparing in the Spanish city of Seville under Coach Avram Grant ahead of the big kick-off on January 17.