Honourable Minister of Youth and Sports, Mustapha Ussif has confirmed receipt of FIFA World Cup prize money. He made this known at a press briefing in Accra early this week.
Ghana who has made four appearances at the global showpiece accrued an amount of $10.5 million from their participation at the Mundial.
An amount of $1.5 million was disbursed by FIFA from the aforementioned amount for the preparation of the senior national team. With the remaining $9 million awarded for their participation in the group stages.
Ghana was housed in Group H alongside Portugal, Uruguay and South Korea but finished bottom of the group.
“We have received [the World Cup prize money]. The FA has written to the Ministry that FIFA has transferred the prize money to the FA. They’ve written to us and I’ve also written to my bosses.
The Member of Parliament further elaborated on how the money will be utilized.
“We have precedent. In the 2006 World Cup, when the prize money came, there was a portion that was given to the FA for sports development and infrastructure development, and a portion was sent to the Consolidated Fund.
“Then in 2010, the government invested [in the team] so when the prize money came, everything was taken by the government”
The law-maker added; “In 2014, when the prize money came, some was given to the FA for their participation in the AFCON in 2015. This time we are just about to go to the AFCON”
“We also want to develop some sports infrastructure. The FA have written that they want to improve the infrastructure at Prampram.
“It’s something that we need to get Executive approval for. We have written we’ve made very various options available to my bosses to give me approval before we can communicate to the public.”
Ghana used up an estimated $5.1 million at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
