Former Ghana Football Association (GFA) Chairman Dr Nyaho Nyaho Tamakloe says former Sports Minister Yaw Osafo Maafo has no moral right to preach anti-corruption in Ghana football.
He said Osafo Maafo, who is now Senior Minister, should stop behaving like a ‘’good boy’’.
Osafo Maafo, who is credited for his role in Ghana's first ever qualification to the World Cup in 2006, speaking at a forum to launch this year’s national anti-corruption and transparency week in Accra, alleged that corruption is responsible for the football stagnation in the country.
He added that the Ghana Premier league has grown unattractive over the years because of corruption within the rank and file of the league management, recounting his experience with corrupt officials.
“I have been Minister for Sports before, and it was during my time that Ghana qualified for the World Cup for the first time.
“One of the first things I did was to invite the match officials to my office because the league becomes important when people see fairness. “You destroy the league of the country when people know that matches are being fixed. Corruption got so deep in football after 2010 that Ghanaians stopped being interested in the local league,” he said.
“Corruption in the officiating of Ghana Premier League matches has had a very negative effect on our football, to the extent that local players have hardly featured in the Black Stars call-ups these days.
“That is certainly not the best, as we used to get about half of the Black Stars from the local league, with most of them coming from Hearts, Kotoko, Olympics, Eleven Wise and a few others. And these players were very competitive and conquered Africa.
“These teams also conquered Africa in their own right, but how are our teams doing in Africa these days? The winner of our league cannot even make it through the first round of the CAF competition.
“We must make sure that those who are guilty of these corrupt offences are found out and punished accordingly. But the outspoken board member of Hearts of Oak is questioning the integrity of Osafo Maafo. ‘’If I will join this sort of discussion, I will be compelled to abuse people.’’
He added: ‘’He [Yaw Osafo Maafo] has no moral right to talk about corruption in the Ghana Football’’
‘’Yaw should stop playing the good boy, that’s all!’’
Source: JFM/Ghana
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