Former Youth and Sports Minister, Elvis Afriyie Ankrah, believes the NDC’s handling of the 2014 World Cup money brouhaha was their biggest undoing.
During the 2014 World Cup, Ghana faced a scandal when players demanded $100,000 each in appearance fees, threatening to boycott their final match.
This led the government to send $3 million in cash to Brazil to appease the players, resulting in significant public embarrassment and the team's early exit from the tournament.
It also resulted in the removal of Afriyie Ankrah as Sports Minister. Reacting to the happenings, Ankrah told Channel One TV, “The biggest tragedy that happened to us was the way we handled the aftermath of the 2014 World Cup. After that World Cup, instead of the country focusing on the root causes of the issues, the focus was on me.
“So it was all about me, me, me, me, me, me, me. Instead of dealing with the issues, such as what the actual problem was and its root cause, attention was diverted. The root cause of the problem was that players insisted on a $100,000 appearance fee.
“The government said it could only provide $82,500. The players responded by stating that if they did not receive the full amount, they would not train. Consequently, the government had to concede and agreed to provide $100,000. The players then demanded physical cash instead of a transfer.”