The Ghanaian amputee national team, the Black Challenge, has revealed that they were neglected by the Sports Ministry, forcing them to buy their own jerseys for the 2024 African Amputee Football Cup of Nations (AAFCON) from Kantamanto.
Despite winning the tournament and defeating Morocco 2-1 in the final, the team was criticized by the Minister for Youth and Sports, Mustapha Ussif, for accepting external donations before meeting with him to present the trophy.
Former President John Mahama donated $10,000 to the team, prompting the Sports Minister to call for accounts to be rendered on every penny they received.
However, in a shocking revelation, head coach Stephen Richard Obeng told Accra-based Starr FM that the Sports Ministry did not provide any funding from their budget aside from buying flight tickets and paying participation fees. The team had to purchase their jerseys from Kantamanto, a market in Accra.
“The government sponsored us, like the Minister said, by buying our flight tickets and paying for our participation fee alone,” Obeng said. “That was the sponsorship the Minister was talking about. That was all. We bought our jerseys from Kantamanto for the 2024 AAFCON. Our hotel bills were taken care of by the local organizing committee of the tournament.”
Obeng also revealed that the team received only $8,500 as participation fee, which was not enough to cover their expenses.
“We never received anything from our budget, the only thing we received was our participation fee, which is $8,500.”
Despite the challenges, the Black Challenge has qualified for the next Amputee Football World Cup in 2026.
