Senior Minister, Yaw Osafo Maafo says corruption in Ghana football has been on the rise since 2010.

The ex-Sports Minister made mention of this at the launch of the anti-corruption transparency programme, organised by the Ghana Integrity Initiative and the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) on Monday.

According to Osafo Maafo, corruption shouldn’t be perceived to be a trait of only politicians, but everyone, including football officials.

Speaking at the programme, he said, “When we talk about corruption, people shift their attention to specifically politicians and that shift itself has created a problem for this country.

“Corruption got so deep in football in 2010, and Ghanaians are no more interested in the local league. Are there any politicians there?

“Corruption in the officiating of soccer matches in the Premier League has had a very negative effect on our football to the extent that the local players are not able to make it into the Black Stars aside the goalkeepers.

“We used to have most of the players from the local league in the past to form the Black Stars. Now, the league winners cannot even compete in Africa when they participate”, he added.

He also revealed that during his tenure as the Sports Minister, he invited referees to his office to have a meeting with them.

Yaw Osafo Maafo was the first Sports Minister under whom the Black Stars qualified to the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany.