SUGHA cries foul for no Brazil slot

One of the two pioneering supporters groups in the country, the Supporters Union of Ghana (SUGHA), is aggrieved after been left in the lurch for the FIFA World Cup in Brazil.

According to the National Coordinator of SUGHA, Harry Awuah-Baffour, the executives as well as the thousands of members around the country are in a state of shock and disbelief after SUGHA was completely left out of the 500 supporters being sponsored by the government to Brazil to support the Black Stars in the on-going FIFA World Cup.

“They didn’t give us even one slot…not a single one,” Awuah-Baffour lamented in a telephone interview with DAILY GUIDE SPORTS.

“We have participated in national competitions, both local and international, for a whole decade! We have attended and supported the Black Stars in all the qualifying matches. We were in South Africa for WC 2010, AFCON 2013 and even CHAN 2014,” he said.

Awuah Baffour explained that SUGHA attended the first vetting session for supporters unions organised by the Ministry of Sports on February 14, 2014, represented by the likes of its founder, Lawyer Sarfo Abebrese, its president, Dr Ken Aryeetey, its legal officer, Lawyer Tetteh Wayoe, himself as the national coordinator, and other national officers.

“In South Africa for instance, our president, Dr Aryeetey doubled as the medical officer in the supporters’ camp providing free medical care to all supporters.

“We will want to hope that our complete exclusion for Brazil 2014 is a genuine mistake and oversight.

In 2007, SUGHA became the Ghanaian offshoot and mother of the Coalition of Supporters Unions of Africa (COSUA) which now operates in 48 countries of Africa with the mandate of the A.U and ECOWAS to use sports to build African unity.