GFA must stop relying on gov't budget - Sports Minister

The Deputy Sports Minister, Vincent Oppong Asamoah has urged the Ghana Football Association to rely on the attractiveness of the Black Stars brand to seek sponsorship to fund the senior national football and not depend on the ministry’s budget.

The Sports Ministry approved a budget of GHC39 million for 2015; GHC18.5 million was spent on the Black Stars participation in the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations solely.

In an exclusive interview with Starr Sports, Oppong said if the Black Stars is perceived to be a very lucrative brand then they should stop sending budgets to his outfit for funding.

“Someone was telling me that look at what the FA has done to brand the Black Stars. If they have branded Black Stars, then they should get private funding to take care of the Black Stars because it is a big brand, so that we can free our (Sports Ministry’s) budget.

"I don’t hate the Black Stars or the FA. But, the issue is that the FA should be able to raise enough resources to take care of the Black Stars, which usually takes over 50% of our budget,” he added.