Sports Minister Mustapha Ussif has expressed dissatisfaction with the Black Challenge, Ghana’s national amputee football team, for failing to drop by the Ministry of Youth and Sports following their victory in Africa last month.
Before visiting the Ministry, the team—which had just won the 2024 Amputee Africa Cup of Nations (AAFCON) in Egypt—visited a number of notable figures, including former President John Mahama, the leader of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC).
Minister Ussif stated, “That cannot be tolerated,” emphasizing the need for national teams to prioritize official visits to government institutions after such victories.
He made the point that, in contrast to the year before, when they paid a direct visit to the Ministry, the team’s activities were different. They decided to visit additional notable people this year, like as former president John Dramani Mahama, who gave the team a $10,000 donation.
“This year you started going from one place to another place to another place without even rendering records to government who sponsored you and that cannot be tolerated,” Minister Ussif said, expressing his disgust with the squad during their visit to the Sports Ministry to present the trophy.
He reminded the team that as a national team, they represent the state, and their actions should reflect this. He also charged the President of the National Paralympic Committee to account for every donation received by the team.
“We will communicate after you have presented all the statements [and] all that you have received to my office,” Minister Ussif said.