From pampering to pomposity
I have a hunch that this generation of Black Star players might not be able to take us to the promise land not because they lack what it takes to do so. They have an appreciable quality required for greatness but unfortunately lack the right attitude.
Advertisement
It seems the current crop of players lack focus and understanding in their privileged status as members of the senior national team, which are key ingredients for success. To put it bluntly, rebels don’t excel! It is high time these players were made aware of this reality. However, there is hope for rebels who are ready to change after they are confronted with the truth. It is my prayer that the entire Black Stars set-up will show remorse and change for the better after reading this piece.
The question I keep asking myself is whether any government official or FA official would consider such high bonuses for their employees in the midst of difficulties such as we are facing in our economy. Sorry to disappoint some people, but I still think the $10,000 winning bonus for the Black Stars is a way too high. We are talking about 380 million old cedis per match. Wow! I wonder how long we can carry this burden as a nation.
That I was highly disappointed to hear that Black Stars players staged another boycott last week prior to their departure to Comoros for the first leg of their FIFA World Cup qualifier is to say the least. According to reports, the players vowed not to board the chartered flight in protest against their unpaid winning bonus, delaying the flight for two hours. That drama reminded me of a similar one-man protest staged by my friend Eric Amoah at the Abuja 2003 All Africa Games.
My disappointment stemmed from the seemingly incorrigible behaviour of the players, especially after holding the entire nation to ransom at the Brazil 2014 FIFA World Cup over appearance fees. For me, last week’s boycott gave me the impression that the players have not learnt any lesson from the embarrassment they brought to the nation in Brazil.
And rather painfully, it also suggested that the whole process of setting up a Presidential Commission of Inquiry by President John Mahama to probe the happenings in Brazil was an exercise in futility. The players’ behaviour smacked of contempt and clearly indicated that the work of the commission and those of us who spent quality time covering the proceedings for months wasted our time for nothing. How sad!
Perhaps, the state needs to take all the blame for deciding to teach these players how to take fat winning bonuses all in the name of qualifying for the World Cup. The situation we find ourselves in now as a nation can be likened to pampering one’s child to the extent where one cannot keep to a particular way of life any longer. Sadly, such children become wayward in most cases.
This whole fat bonus phenomenon began in 2005 when the Stars’ winning bonus shot from $2,000 or so to $8,000 and later $10,000 with the support of the then headline sponsor, Gold Fields Ghana Limited with the view of motivating the team to break the World Cup jinx. And it worked when the Stars qualified for the Germany 2006 FIFA World Cup and followed it up to the next two subsequent Mundials in South Africa and Brazil.
So it is the state that began the pampering of the players, so to speak, albeit with a good objective in mind. Unfortunately, instead of appreciating the efforts of the state, these same players, unreasonable as they typicallly are, are turning their back on the same country which fed and nurtured them to the present state of their respective careers. But for Ghana, some of these players would never think of stepping foot at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA), let alone dream of sitting in an aeroplane.
These player boycotts represent a high level of disrespect to the President of the Republic and the people of Ghana and should, therefore, not be countenanced. Perhaps, it is time to remind the players of their humble beginnings to help them turn on a new leaf.
Let’s learn to cut our coat according to our cloth and explain to these players to humble themselves and adjust to any new bonus review.