Player salary cap in Ghana football

It has been a matter of great concern in Ghana football as to how much a player should earn monthly as salary.

Player exodus has been the order of the day. Most top stars have migrated to other countries in search of greener pastures as professional footballers. It becomes so confusing to see or hear players moving from Ghana to unknown countries like Bangladesh, Laos, Vietnam, Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Lebanon etc. to earn a living.

In an effort to curb such mass departure of players to unpopular destinations in World football, connoisseurs of the game have suggested player salary cap as a solution. US$1,000 has been put across by these experts as a minimum monthly salary for a footballer in Ghana’s topflight.

Most leagues in Africa are only professional by name. Salaries can be as low as US$100.00 per month for a professional player. Nigeria recently ordered clubs to pay players no less than US$600.00 monthly.

Comparatively, US$600.00 is enough to attract players from Ghana, Niger, Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Liberia, Guinea, Mali etc. Yet, only five or so clubs are able to fulfill this order.

This concludes the widespread migration of African footballers to unpopular countries when compared to the monthly minimum pay of footballers in Bangladesh, Vietnam, Thailand, Lebanon, Syria etc. A player can earn US$2,000.00 as monthly salary in these unpopular or unknown countries.

However, the issue is not just the scale of low pay. Players are being owed by their clubs for several months yet, are paid far less than what has been agreed already.

Clubs in African countries such as DR Congo, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Sudan, Morocco, and South Africa are very few clubs that can afford a minimum wage of US$1,000.00 as monthly salary of players which are paid on time. It is no surprise these clubs have been dominating African football for the past decade.

Are (Ghanaian) clubs financially healthy to comply with player salary cap? OR What should clubs do to be able to fulfill this order?