The Ghana Football Association (GFA) has joined its German counterparts (DFB) in playing down a report by a Canadian journalist that the country is involved in match fixing.

But like the DFB, the GFA insists that it will investigate the report to establish the credibility of the country's football governing body and its players.

Declan Hill will allege in his book to be published tomorrow that the 2006 World Cup second-round match between Brazil and Ghana as well as Bundesliga matches were influenced by an Asian betting syndicate.

Randy Abbey, the spokesman of the GFA, says they will read the book before investigating but doubted the credibility of the report.

"We have to investigate the matter because it is a very serious allegation on the credibility of our country and our players," Abbey told Joy FM.

"For now we have not seen the book and to make any definite conclusions would be jumping the gun but we are taking it seriously."

Hill accused players of the Black Stars of taking less than US$1,000 each to lose the game against Brazil but Abbey says it is a bizarre claim.

"It beggars belief that our world-class players who have served Ghana with integrity all along would throw a game for less than US$1,000 each when they stood the chance of getting US$7000,000 collectively for winning the game.

"We have not had any such experience with our players in the past and those making these allegations should be ready to face the music if it is found to be a hoax."

The German Football Federation is looking into the allegations trumpeted by the Canadian journalist even though they says they are not aware of any evidence of match-fixing.

Hill will write in his book that large sums of money had been bet on Brazil winning by at least two goals and a former Ghana international acted as an intermediary.

Ghana lost the last 16 round match 3-0 in Dortmund on June 27, 2006 which put Brazil into the quarter-finals where they lost to France.

Hill, whose book on match-fixing will be published in Germany on Tuesday, said three years of research had shown that a former Ghana international Abubakari Damba had acted as the middleman between Ghana's players and the head of a betting syndicate in Bangkok.