Anas #12: Ghana football's darkside
The much-anticipated investigative documentary by Anas Aremeyaw Anas, “Number 12”, will be shown to the public in Accra today.
The documentary, which has generated much controversy, will reveal the extent of rot in Ghana’s football administration.
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It brings to the fore how penalties are awarded and yellow and red cards are shown to influence the outcome of local football matches.
The prying eyes of the investigative team of the celebrated investigative journalist also captured back-room deals before matches are played.
The close to two-hour documentary also depicts how 77 Ghanaian referees allegedly took bribes to influence their decisions in football matches.
According to the documentary, six officials of the National Sports Authority have been caught on video entering into visa deals.
Another 14 officials of the Ghana Football Association (GFA) are captured on video taking various sums in bribe to engage in match fixing.
Some big shots in Ghana football are also seen negotiating deals to influence the outcome of games of football.
Shocking scenes will be played out to football fans who had suffered heartaches in matches they watched in the past.
Few good men
But, in all those scenes, two men stand out — they refused to take bribes. They are Mr Kwaku Ayiah, a lawyer, and Mr J.F. Mensah, a match commissioner with the GFA.
Readers will be treated to more details from the video in the coming days.
Nyantakyi v Anas team
Portions of the statement which the GFA President, Mr Kwesi Nyantakyi, gave to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service, in which he is purported to have said that the Anas “investors” told him that they (investors) financed former President John Mahama’s campaign in the past have been leaked to the media.
Communicators of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) have hit back, denying the claim and stating that, indeed, the Anas investors never existed in the first place.
Battle
It has been a week of battles, as critics of Anas, such as the Member of Parliament for Assin North, Mr Kennedy Agyapong, has sought to use the traditional media to discredit Anas.
But Anas’s mentor, Mr Abdul Malik Kwaku Baako Junior, has met the MP boot for boot in an attempt to repel any form of attack.
FIFA
Anas has decided to report an alleged misconduct by Mr Nyantakyi to world football’s governing body, FIFA.
The documentary is said to have captured Nyantakyi on video entering into sponsorship deals with some investors who ended up being undercover agents of Anas.
Nyantakyi’s conduct, a source said, contravened FIFA’s ethics.
The Daily Graphic has gathered that Anas has delivered the petition at the FIFA Headquarters in Switzerland.
“This issue is beyond Ghana,”a source close to the investigations told the Daily Graphic.
“Just a little portion of the video features Ghana. It is an international operation and will be handled as such,” it said.
Meanwhile, FIFA is on record to have stated that it is monitoring the events in Ghana keenly as they unfold, but Mr Nyantakyi has denied any wrongdoing.
According to him, he deserved recognition for his impressive work towards the growth of Ghana football.
Build up
Anas has released an exciting and suspense-filled piece on his social media page eulogizing the men who have contributed to the growth of Ghana football.
“It is for these poor folks, the duped, long-suffering fans and the numerous sports journalists, some of whom I have mentioned here — journalists who get to work at the crack of dawn and stay late to bring up-to-date news to the public — that I have undertaken this "Number 12" assignment.
“It is for the sake of more sanity and transparency that I have decided to scrape clean this tainted football system for a fresh start.
“The very foundation of Ghana football will collapse in a heap, to be rebuilt by the concerned sports journalists and the honest football people who will remain standing,” Anas stated.
He is, accordingly, urging Ghanaians to hold their breaths for what he terms the “explosive exposé in the coming days”.
President reports
Meanwhile, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has reported the conduct of Mr Nyantakyi to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service for allegedly using his (President’s) name in an attempt to extort money from potential investors.
