World Cup: Ghana sacks Sports minister

Ghana’s Minister of sports and his deputy have been removed from their positions in the wake of the country’s abysmal performance in the World Cup.


The president, John Mahama, gave no reason for the order, but it comes after the team finished bottom of Group G, failing to win any games.

The president’s statement said erstwhile sports minister, Elvis Afriyie-Ankrah has been reassigned as a minister of state in the government while his deputy Joseph Yammin had been sent to the Ashanti region as a deputy regional minister.

The team’s World Cup campaign has been dogged by difficulties and controversy. Ghana’s players threatened to strike unless a cash shipment containing unpaid fees was sent to them. Mahama was forced to send a plane load of £1.76m to Brasília for the players to share.

Meanwhile Sulley Muntari was suspended for what the country’s FA alleged was “an unprovoked physical attack” on an FA executive committee member.

Schalke forward Kevin-Prince Boateng was also suspended indefinitely for what the FA said were “vulgar verbal insults” aimed at the team’s coach, James Kwesi Appiah, during training.

The country’s 2014 campaign was in sharp contrast to the 2010 one, in which Ghana progressed to the quarter-finals and were denied a goal that might have taken them to the semi-finals by a Luis Suárez handball.

Ghana’s World Cup ended after a 2-1 loss to Portugal