Ministry denies asking for Plavi to stay

The Ministry of Youth and Sports has denied expressing its desire to see Goran Stevanovic stay on as the head coach of the Black Stars.

Footy-ghana.com earlier reported this afternoon that whilst members of the Executive Committee of the Ghana Football Association unanimously want him out, the Ministry favours his retention, but according to the Ministry’s Public Relations Officer, Akwasi Sarpong, that is untrue.


Sarpong told footy-ghana.com that Stevanovic’s contract contains a clause that specifies that the GFA alone is the body that can hire a coach for the team, adding that from inference, it is only the GFA that can fire a coach.


‘There is a clause in the contract that states clearly that the GFA is the only body that can hire a coach and what I can infer from that statement is that it is only the GFA that can hire a coach for the Black Stars. So with regard to such a decision to either maintain or fire the coach, we play no part in the decision making process.’


Sarpong also told footy-ghana.com that Stevanovic was not paid by the government, but rather paid from sponsorship money provided by Goldfields Ghana.

‘Stevanovic has never been paid from our coffers. He was paid with the sponsorship money provided by Goldfields Ghana. So in this regard, we are not the paymasters. What happened was that after Stevanovic was hired, he was introduced to us here at the Ministry and through that, we facilitated a meeting to introduce him to His Excellency the President (Professor Atta Mills) and cleared the way for him to be outdoored the following day.’


The Ministry of Youth and Sports PRO also added that the Minister, Hon. Clement Kofi Humado has asked to be kept informed about developments, noting that issues over Stevanovic’s contract have been discussed.


‘Indeed we have had meetings on issues regarding Stevanovic’s contract, which the Minister requested for and received, and for us, we are waiting for the Executive Committee to get back to us with their decision which will then be ratified by the Ministry. So the Minister has asked to be kept informed on developments and indeed he has been regularly updated. So at no point in time has he, or anyone at this Ministry expressed the desire for the coach to stay, especially since the decision to maintain or fire him doesn’t rest with us, but with the Executive Committee of the GFA.’