Former Ghana Football Association (GFA) chairman, Dr. Nyaho Nyaho-Tamakloe, has advised Charles Akonnor Kwabla, the former Black Stars coach, to take legal action against the Ministry of Youth and Sports to claim his unpaid arrears.
Akonnor, who served as Black Stars coach under a two-year deal from 2020 to September 2021, is owed a total of $275,000, even two years after leaving his position. His departure came after a defeat to South Africa in a FIFA World Cup qualifier.
Dr. Nyaho-Tamakloe, in an interview with Graphic Sports, expressed his disappointment with the treatment Akonnor received during his tenure and urged him to take legal action to receive the payment he is owed.
”He should take them to court if they are refusing to pay him. This is a straightforward matter; the person has worked for you, and you are not paying him. He should take them to court,’’ Dr Nyaho-Tamakloe stated.
The Hearts of Oak board member also criticized the unfair treatment Akonnor endured, including the denial of privileges that should have been granted to him as the national team’s coach.
”You are supposed to be the coach of the Black Stars and you have certain privileges; the bungalow that was supposed to be given to you was given to a white man, your official car was also given to a white man, and you are not being paid and you are quiet?” he questioned.
”I was even thinking when he was denied a place to stay, he would have resigned. A job that you are supposed to have qualified for; there were others who were competing with you but you got it ahead of them so it means you qualified, so I don’t understand why he should allow himself to be treated this way,” he stated.
Akonnor is owed seven months’ salary, amounting to an estimated $175,000, along with the remaining four months’ severance package of $100,000. His former assistant, David Duncan, is also owed four months of unpaid salary, which was set at $10,000 per month.
CK Akonnor took over as Black Stars coach following Kwesi Appiah’s departure after Ghana’s underwhelming performance in the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Egypt.