Former Black Stars coach Charles Kwablan Akonnor and his assistant, David Duncan, have yet to receive their outstanding salaries totaling $275,000, two years after being relieved of their posts.
In 2020, the Ghana Football Association (GFA) engaged Coach Akonnor on a two-year contract, which was terminated four months before its scheduled end.
Sources close to Coach Akonnor have reported that he is still struggling with unpaid salary arrears, despite making efforts to retrieve the funds. It is estimated that the GFA owes him approximately $275,000 in outstanding salaries.
Investigations by Graphic Sports reveal that Coach Akonnor’s contract entitled him to a monthly salary of $25,000 when he took over the Black Stars in January 2020. According to the terms, he was entitled to receive his full salary in the event of early termination.
Regrettably, Coach Akonnor is still owed seven months’ salary, amounting to $175,000, along with the remaining four months he was supposed to have served, totaling $100,000.
The treatment of these two local coaches has been criticized, especially when compared to an expatriate coach, Milovan Rajevac, who succeeded Coach Akonnor but was compensated upon his departure.
This has raised concerns about fairness and the need for intervention by the authorities to prevent such situations in the future.
“I am aware Milovan Rajevac who took over from Coach Akonnor but was sacked after his disastrous campaign at the last AFCON was paid all his entitlements before leaving the country.
“How can we be so cruel to our own people? It is not as if the coach is begging for some money but he is only demanding what is due him but look at how he is being treated.
“I don’t think it is fair and the authorities must intervene to avoid any future embarrassment”, he bemoaned.
Coach Duncan, who was also on a monthly salary of $10,000, is reportedly owed four months’ salary, in addition to other benefits.