Nyantakyi ridicules sports minister with ‘serial caller’ jibe

Ghana Football Association president Kwesi Nyantakyi has scaled up the on-going war of words between the sector Minister Nii Lantey Vanderpuye and the the GFA by claiming the minister’s criticism of the Ghana Premier League was like that of a serial caller.

The GFA president has always insisted the football association has no problem with the sports minister but Kwesi Nyantekyi pulled no punches when he was asked about the minister’s criticism of the Ghana Premier League on Star FM on Tuesday.

The minister had said the league has no sponsorship because it is not attractive enough. Nyantekyie was clearly not impressed.

“This is a league that we dream, eat and think about. This is a league where the clubs are owned by individuals”, Nyantekyi said.

“None of them is owned by the government. The question is what has the govt been doing to help? That is what I expected the minister to be doing and not to be criticising the league without any facts probably like a serial caller. Unfortunately and sorry to say that without any justifiable cause.”

He also went on to criticse what he calls the minister’s penchant for addressing issues against the GFA through the media rather than on a face-to-face basis and feels that approach would not benefit the country in anyway.

But it is the serial caller jibe that is bound to cause the biggest stir and deepen an already existed gap created by disagreement over bonuses for players, officials and the quality of the local league.

“If he has issues about the way football is run at the GFA, he should engage us to address his concerns or officially communicate to us, but to the best of my knowledge the Minister has never done that.

“I always hear him on air addressing us. He granted interview stating he had slashed bonuses, he also stated he wasn’t happy with the budget of the Black Stars submitted by the GFA, without communicating these concerns to the Association.

“I doubt if any reasonable person would draw conclusions we have a problem with the Minister.

“Maybe he has an issue with the GFA. I am not happy with his style of management. He should ensure he adopts excellent interpersonal skills. You can’t deal with the GFA as if you are a law unto yourself. In this case, you are bound to fail.”