Players of the Black Stars will be at least $10,000 richer in bonuses, win or lose, as they go into another crunch battle with the Pharaohs of Egypt tomorrow.
That seemed to be the agreement reached between the leadership of the playing body and the coaches on one hand, and the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the Black Stars Management Committee on the other, at a closed door marathon meeting held at the team�s Wyndham Istanbul Petek Hotel last Saturday night.
The Youth and Sports Minister, Elvis Afriyie Ankrah, who arrived in the early hours of Saturday, had promised the few mediamen present that he was going to announce the government�s package to the Stars at a meeting with the players and officials during dinner.
But as the media waited with bated breath to know what the final qualification would be, the minister instead preferred to keep his cards to his chest only to discuss it with the team�s top brass in camera for hours .
However, the worst disappointment was unleashed on the highly expectant journalists when the minister declined to comment on the subject after emerging from the meeting, which ate deep into the night.
The day before that fateful meeting, Kwesi Nyantakyi had told the Daily Graphic that the Stars were going to receive the normal winning bonus for tomorrow�s game. He, however, failed to touch on what the scenario would be in case of defeat or a draw.
It is believed that those were the finest details that the said meeting sought to address as the Stars players would obviously press for a qualification bonus in case they lose the second leg and still qualify for Brazil.
The playing body was represented at the meeting by skipper Asamoah Gyan, Sulley Muntari and Michael Essien, with Nyantakyi and his management committee and Communications Director, Saani Daara, also present.
In an interview with the Daily Graphic minutes after the meeting, all Asamoah Gyan could say about the package was that the players were satisfied with the offer. The Stars pocketed $15,000 after trouncing Egypt 6-1 in the first leg in Kumasi on October 15.
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