Newly appointed Minister of Youth and Sports, Hon. Nii Lante Vanderpuye has made a shocking revelation that he is happy Ghana’s U23 side could not qualify for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Jeneiro due to lack of funds.

According to the outspoken Minister, the budget allocated for sports in 2016 is so meager that had the Black Meteors qualified for the Olympic Games, it would have put him in a tight corner.

“I must confess that I am happy the U23 side could not qualify for the Olympic Games in Brazil. It would have meant that we had to do everything possible to get money to fund them,” he said during a meeting with the Sports Writers Association of Ghana.

“The entire budget allocated for sports in 2016 is GHC22m which, in all honesty, is inadequate.

Out of this amount, GHC11m will go into the payment of compensations [Salaries and allowances] and the remaining will be disbursed for all the other sporting disciplines.”

The minister added that the budget of the football team alone is GHC42m which is close to twice the entire budget for the year and that had they qualified, it would have put a lot of pressure on the ministry.

“… so if the team had qualified for the Olympic Games, we would have struggled in raising funds for them for the event,” he concluded.

The Minister has made several comments in relation to the Ghana FA which appears that on assuming duty, he will have a tango with the football federation.