Former Minister for Youth and Sports, Elvis Afriyie Ankrah has bemoaned the unreasonably high amount of money the state pays to Black Stars players as appearance fees.

He says that there must be a distinction between reward and compensation for the Black Stars as the hefty amount paid to players of the Black Stars is inexplicably exorbitant for a country like Ghana.

Elvis Afriyie Ankrah was the Sports Minister when the infamous 2014 Brazil debacle occurred when $3million was airlifted to players of the Black Stars as they threatened to boycott the World Cup if their appearance fees were not paid them.

He says that players must see playing for the Black Stars as some sort of pride which will come with an adequate reward from the state but not some business for profit.

The former Sports Minister made this assertion in an interview with Luv FM's Delali Atiase in Kumasi.

“As a country, you need to have a balance between rewarding and compensating your players. It is their profession, yes, that’s what they live on but at the same time you have to also look at the current situation. I think that this huge appearance fee is a no no, so we have to balance it. Don’t forget that these guys are breadwinners, they have so many dependants and people who look up to them. So, you definitely have to give them something, but not such a huge sum of money like $100,000,” he stressed.

He says that playing for ones country must come with pride first and not money as  is the case of the Black Stars.

“Even more is the attitude; it should be more of the pride to play for your country and then you are given something decent which is agreed to by all the parties,” he stated.