Black Stars players earn $50,000 each from AFCON

It has emerged that each Black Stars player pocketed about $50,000 from their shambolic outing at the just-ended Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Egypt.

This was revealed by the Minister of Youth and Sports, Mr Isaac Kwame Asiamah, when he briefed Parliament yesterday on the expenditure of the team’s participation in the biennial tournament.

According to the NPP MP for the Atwima Mponua Constituency, it cost the state $187,050 to cater for the per diem of the 23 players, while a total of $965,405 was paid to the playing body as winning bonus.

Despite crashing out at the Round of 16, the Black Stars players were paid almost the same amount as their Senegalese counterparts who earned a total of $51,000 each for placing second in the competition.

For reaching the final, each Senegalese player was paid $17,000 bonus, while President Macky Sall expressed the nation’s appreciation to the team with a further donation of $34,000 to each player.

The disclosure of the financial details of Ghana’s AFCON campaign has stirred controversy as the winning bonus for the Black Stars was pegged at $10,000 ahead of the competition.

Unfortunately, the Black Stars won just one out of the four games played, raising questions as to why each player could pocket almost $42,000 for winning just a single game.