Deputy Sports Minister Nii Nortey Dua has reiterated the government¹s intention not to financially sponsor any supporter group to Gabon/Equatorial Guinea where the next edition of the AFCON is going to be held.
Africa¹s number one football tournament kicks off next Sunday, January 21, and already about 27 different supporters group in the country are decrying the government¹s inability to sponsor them to cheer the Black Stars on to victory.
Reports are that these various groups are struggling to raise the needed funding to travel to Gabon to support the Black Stars and attempts to access government support has failed.
However, Nii Nortey Dua, in an interview with Xfm 95.1 said the norm is not for government to sponsor supporters unions to major football tournaments; According to him, all the Ministry does is to help facilitate visas for members of the group with introductory letters; a task he said government has never reneged on.
He added though that failure to grant anybody visa solely rest on the Embassy of the host nation, saying, government cannot be blamed for this.
³All that the Ministry will do is to give you a letter of introduction; if there is any reason why you were refuse visa, you cannot blame that on the government. It is the sovereign responsibility of the host country², Nii Nortey affirmed.
³The World Cup in South Africa was an exceptional case, government paid for everything from airfare to accommodation, etc, but for the Africa Cup of nations, government is not ready or has any plans to do that², he added.
Meanwhile, the Deputy Minister who also is the MP for Ledzekuku Constituency is calling on Ghanaians to support the Black Stars to victory because he believes ³the team has the wherewithal to win the tournament².
He warned against complacency since according to him, the era of underdogs in football is long over.
³People think that because some big teams are missing, it will be difficult to win, but this time, there is no big team or small team; if you underrate any team, you will be shocked to the bone. People wrote us out in Angola, but we managed to reach the finale. I think that our boys will do well; they will win the ultimate².
Ghana¹s Black Stars will open account in Group D against Botswana on January 24 in Franceville, Gabon, where they will be based.
Story by Abena Asiedua Tenkorang/ Xfm 95.1/ Accra/ Ghana
