Sports News of Tuesday, 6 October 2015

Source: Class FM

Smearing me all the time 'ridiculous' – Nyantakyi

Kwasi Nyantakyi, GFA President Kwasi Nyantakyi, GFA President

The local media must put their strength into developing the local league instead of attacking the Ghana Football Association (GFA) and its leaders all the time, Mr Kwesi Nyantakyi has said.

The FA President said not only is it “ridiculous” to keep smearing him in the media, but also unhelpful to the development of football in Ghana.

“Talking about Kwesi Nyantakyi will not help the development of the league,” he told Nii Arday Clegg on Starr 103.5 FM’s breakfast show, Morning Starr, on Tuesday, October 6, 2015, and wondered why “…everything is about Kwesi Nyantakyi.”

“Even when the water at the Accra sports stadium is not flowing for the pitch to be to water; it’s Kwesi Nyantakyi, who didn’t do his work.

“When the badminton, or swimming association hasn’t got its money to finance its activities, its Kwesi Nyantatkyi, who didn’t do his work; it’s ridiculous,” he complained.

“I think that we must move beyond personalities to issues, and address issues and contribute to the development of the game,” the three-time FA President said.

Commenting on the work and findings of the Dzamefe Commission, which investigated the expenditure of the GFA and its officials as far as the participation of the senior national football team, Black Stars, at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil was concerned, Mr Nyantakyi said some the presidential commission did not address the “serious issues.”

“…They also made damning observations or findings, which are not founded in law or facts,” he averred, adding: “There was a finding that Kwesi Nyantakyi should be investigated by the BNI [Bureau of National Investigations] for not accounting for 200,000 dollars that was paid by the state for the organisation of a friendly match prior to the World Cup, and that was the first time that I heard about that.

“I think that to an extent some of the issues were taken for a joke; we were not looking beyond individuals; Kwesi Nyantakyi was looked at as an individual that must be crucified by all means and so some of the findings were personalised around him rather than the institution of football,” he complained, and described the situation as “very unfortunate.”

“…Of course if I did something wrong it must be pointed out, but when you strenuously and deliberately try to find faults when none exists, it exposes you as a wicked person or someone embarking on a witch-hunting spree,” Nyantakyi added.