A public disagreement has emerged within Ghanaian football after former Ghana Football Association vice-president George Afriyie criticised GFA president Kurt Okraku over comments questioning the need to disclose the Black Stars’ budget.
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‎Speaking to Asaase Radio, Mr Okraku said he had “no problem” with making the Black Stars budget public but questioned why the focus was solely on football.
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‎“Why are we not asking every sector of the economy to make their budgets public, and why only Black Stars?” he asked. “Why create confusion where there’s no need for confusion? The GFA is a private entity. We dwell and waste our time on things which are needless.”
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‎However, in an interview with Asempa FM, Mr Afriyie said he was surprised by the remarks and disagreed with the stance taken by the GFA president.
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‎“We all know the national teams, the Black Stars, are owned by the government, and if they are to give you money, I don’t see anything wrong with the money being made public,” he said. “After all, the money is from the taxpayer. I believe that he was wrong to question the logic behind why the budget should be made public.”
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‎The debate over transparency dates back to February 2025, when President John Mahama, during his State of the Nation Address, called for an end to secrecy surrounding government spending on national teams. He subsequently tasked the Sports Ministry with publishing those budgets.
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Following the directive, Sports Minister Kofi Adams disclosed the amounts allocated for each Black Stars game from Matchday Five to Ten of the World Cup qualifiers, a move that has since divided opinion within Ghana’s football community.
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‎The exchange highlights broader questions about governance, accountability and the balance between public funding and private administration in Ghanaian sport.