Flagstaff House, FA intervene in Queens’ siege

A week-long standoff between the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the senior national women’s team over the payment of winning bonus and other emoluments due them was settled yesterday following the intervention of President John Dramani Mahama and the FA.

The Black Queens have thus agreed to check out of the M-Plaza Hotel this morning, two days after they were given an ultimatum to leave after breakfast last Monday.

The raging storm over the Queens’ rejection of a $2,000 bonus for winning gold at the just-ended All Africa Games and their subsequent refusal to leave the hotel until they received full payment of outstanding bonuses, were put to rest temporarily after a meeting yesterday between a Presidential Staffer and a GFA delegation at the Flagstaff House at which it was agreed to pay the gold medal-winning team $5,000 each with the remainder settled later.

A source at the meeting disclosed to the Graphic Sports that a Presidential Staffer, Commodore Steve Obimpeh, said the President had asked that the players be paid $5,000 each with an assurance that on his return from the USA, where he is attending the UN General Assembly, he would see to it that all outstanding issues were settled.

Earlier last Monday, GFA president Kwesi Nyantakyi led a delegation, including the Queens management committee chairperson, Linear Addy, to their Roman Ridge hotel in a bid to defuse the tension and resolve the impasse, as the players defied an ultimatum to check out of their hotel rooms.

Mr Nyantakyi told the Graphic Sports yesterday that after a fruitful deliberation over the team’s concerns, the players still stood their grounds and insisted on taking the full amount owed them by the government.

As a result, Mr Nyantakyi said the FA officials proposed that the team be given them time to discuss the matter further with the Ministry of Youth and Sports, which was responsible for the payment.

The Queens rejected $2,000 bonus each for winning gold at the Brazzaville Games and insisted on collecting $23,000 each in accumulated bonuses in arrears for qualifying for the Olympic Games in Rio and the All Africa Games before checking out of the hotel.