Former Sports Minister, Hon Elvis Afriyie Ankrah ,has said that,Ghana Black Stars could have made history in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil but for love of money without commitment on the side of the players caused their downfall.
He revealed that , he had no option but to fly over $4 million to Brazil during the 2014 World Cup to pay the appearance fees of the Black Stars players.
He said they had planned to transfer the money through UniBank, but the players led by the then captain, Asamoah Gyan, insisted that they did not want the bank transfer because there could be charges.
Some of them, Mr Ankrah said, indicated that their cards had expired, and for that reason, they could not withdraw the money if transferred through the bank.
Despite pleading and begging with them to reconsider their decision, he said, the players maintained that they would not train if they did not see physical cash.
Speaking on the sidelines of a day orientation and capacity building organized for Ashanti regional treasurers, finance, and welfare committee Members of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in Kumasi, he said he was disappointed about the situation but had no option.
He said the team could have made history by reaching the final or semi-final of the World Cup if such things did not occur.
