A last minute hitch is about to derail the training programme of the national under-20 soccer team, the black Satellites, in their preparation to defend the African Youth Championship trophy in Ethiopia next March.
The Ghana Football Association (GFA) said it has run out of funds and therefore would not be able to sponsor the team to play their Ethiopian counterparts in a two-match friendly in Adiss Ababa on November 29 and in December.
Mr Julius Onyameama, Deputy General Secretary of the GFA told the GNA in Accra on Monday that the association has exhausted all government allocations and that the only alternative is for the GFA to meet and look for other sponsors.
Head Coach Emmanuel Kwesi Afranie who has been in camp with the boys after their 2-2 drawn game with Algeria to book a place for next year's championship expressed disgust at the new development.
He told the GNA that "if the GFA knew that the trip was not going to be possible it should have at least given me an advanced notice so as not to invite all these players including the foreign-based ones to camp".
Many connoisseurs of the game believe that the GFA is intentionally "pushing" Afranie for openly criticising former Black Stars coach, Giuseppe Dossena after the Stars disappointing outing at the CAN 2000.
"What actually broke the camel's back was Afranie's support for the Youth and Sports Minister E. T. Mensah not to renew the contract of the Italian coach," insiders of the country's sports administration said.
As a result, the Coach Afranie was left alone with his boys during the last qualifier against Algeria to the extent that he had to go round looking for "locally-made" jerseys, among other things, for the two-leg match.
At the time of filing this story, Coach Afranie and Mr Onyameama were holding a meeting with the GFA Chairman Alhaji M. N. D. Jawula on the issue.
A last minute hitch is about to derail the training programme of the national under-20 soccer team, the black Satellites, in their preparation to defend the African Youth Championship trophy in Ethiopia next March.
The Ghana Football Association (GFA) said it has run out of funds and therefore would not be able to sponsor the team to play their Ethiopian counterparts in a two-match friendly in Adiss Ababa on November 29 and in December.
Mr Julius Onyameama, Deputy General Secretary of the GFA told the GNA in Accra on Monday that the association has exhausted all government allocations and that the only alternative is for the GFA to meet and look for other sponsors.
Head Coach Emmanuel Kwesi Afranie who has been in camp with the boys after their 2-2 drawn game with Algeria to book a place for next year's championship expressed disgust at the new development.
He told the GNA that "if the GFA knew that the trip was not going to be possible it should have at least given me an advanced notice so as not to invite all these players including the foreign-based ones to camp".
Many connoisseurs of the game believe that the GFA is intentionally "pushing" Afranie for openly criticising former Black Stars coach, Giuseppe Dossena after the Stars disappointing outing at the CAN 2000.
"What actually broke the camel's back was Afranie's support for the Youth and Sports Minister E. T. Mensah not to renew the contract of the Italian coach," insiders of the country's sports administration said.
As a result, the Coach Afranie was left alone with his boys during the last qualifier against Algeria to the extent that he had to go round looking for "locally-made" jerseys, among other things, for the two-leg match.
At the time of filing this story, Coach Afranie and Mr Onyameama were holding a meeting with the GFA Chairman Alhaji M. N. D. Jawula on the issue.
