Sports News of Thursday, 9 February 2017

Source: footballghana.com

Former Ghana striker Tony Yeboah labels GFA as 'Mafia Group'

Anthony Yeboah Anthony Yeboah

Former Ghana international, Anthony Yeboah has taken a dig at the Ghana Football Association (GFA) by calling them ‘Mafia Group’.

The nation’s football governing body has come under huge scrutiny after Ghana’s failure to annex this year’s Africa Cup of Nations in Gabon, as some are even calling for the head of the association, Kwesi Nyantakyi to vacate his position.

However, Yeboah, who’s one of the nation’s finest strikers to have don the Black Stars jersey scathingly called the FA a ‘Mafia Group’, and asserted that the problem facing the country currently started from the 2006 World Cup in Germany

“When we went to Germany, we encountered certain petty issues in the camp where the GFA acted like a mafia group and held issues in their stead firmly without letting anybody in,” the ex-Leeds United striker told Angel FM.

“When we came home after the tournament, nobody spoke of it. People who had the bravery to speak of it did not have any help or backing whatsoever and were asked by certain FA officials to keep mute and we never heard of the issues again. There are certain officials in the FA who have rendered themselves untouchable; you speak issues which do not go down well with them and all of a sudden you are number one public enemy.”

“It does not matter whether you are the Minister. If you are not on the same page with them or you do not see eye to eye with them, it means you are in trouble and it is something that has been there since and is still going on at the FA so why should it be like that? It has been from that time (2006 world cup) since our football has never been the same. There have been some impressive performances along the way notably the 2010 world cup but since then, our football has been in turmoil and the sooner we get rid of such autocracy at the FA the better for all of our sakes.”