Sports News of Thursday, 30 April 2020

Source: ghanaiantimes.com.gh

GFA set to investigate Nyantakyi, others over #12

Former GFA President, Kwesi Nyantakyi Former GFA President, Kwesi Nyantakyi

Two years after the Anas Aremeyaw Anas’ Tiger Eye PI #12 investigative piece on the rot in the nation’s football, the Ghana Football Association (GFA) is set to launch its own inquisition into the matter that implicated the former boss of the association, Mr Kwesi Nyantakyi.

The GFA has tasked its Ethics Committee to look into the matter and implement the necessary sanctions.

According to a statement by the GFA Communications outfit, the FA Ethics Committee has taken delivery of the raw footage of “Number 12 exposé” from Tiger Eye PI.

It said, the Accra-based investigative organization on June 6, 2018, premiered anti-graft investigations involving Ghanaian football officials.

The investigations were meant to uncover some unscrupulous behaviour in the Ghanaian football fraternity.

The Executive Council in February 2020, requested for the raw footage of the “Number 12 exposé” in order to deal with the matter which remains one of the key Compliance and Integrity demands from FIFA.

“The videos are key components for the Ethics Committee in its work on this governance issue,” the statement added.

Officials of Tiger Eye PI have also assured the GFA of their preparedness to assist the Ethics Committee in its work.



Receiving the footage, General Secretary Prosper Harrison Addo, thanked officials of Cromwell Gray LLP (lawyers of Tiger Eye PI) on behalf of the GFA, assuring all that work will commence immediately on the matter to bring closure to all stakeholders including FIFA.

It is recalled that the Tiger Eye PI documentary exposed the rot in Ghana sports, especially at the GFA – where top officials and referees were caught taking bribes to influence match results in the domestic league as well as push players into national teams.

Ten top Ghanaian referees were subsequently banned for bringing the game into disrepute.

The Tiger Eye PI investigation also saw Mr Nyantakyi being splashed with a life ban from all football-related activities by FIFA, following various violations of the governing body’s ethics code, including bribery and corruption.

A former member of FIFA’s General Council, Nyantakyi, was found guilty after being filmed in a hotel room appearing to take a $65,000 bribe from a supposed businessman seeking to sponsor the Ghanaian football league.

He was also fined 500,000 Swiss Francs ($498,000).

The former CAF Vice President was said to have violated art. 19 (Conflicts of interest), art. 21 (Bribery and corruption) and art. 22 (Commission) of the FIFA Code of Ethics.