The Ministry of Youth and Sports has finally settled the outstanding bonuses owed to the senior women’s team, the black queens, on Thursday, 22 February 2024 , ahead of their crucial Olympic qualifying game on Friday at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium in Kumasi.
The black queens had been owed bonuses since September 2023 for wining games against Benin, Rwanda, and Namibia.
The Sports Ministry agreed to pay $2,500 for each match, which accumulated to $7,500 for their 6 matches played against Rwanda ( home and away), Benin ( home and away) and Namibia ( home and away).
There were rumours of discontent in the team’s camp owing to the unpaid bonuses, which brought about speculation of the black queens wanting to boycott their crucial match against the copper queens on Friday.
The reports sparked a public uproar in which people demanded payment for the queens, who had been playing very well ever since Nora Hauptle became the team’s head coach.
The report brought about urgency, and on Wednesday night, the team was visited by Ghana FA President Kurt Okraku, Sports Minister Mustapha Ussif and Gifty Oware-Mensah.
The Ministry of Sports eventually cleared all bonuses owed after issuing cheques for $7,500 each, the equivalent of GH₵85,000 at the Bank of Ghana rate.
The black queens, who are poised for action, are two ties away from their first-ever appearance at the Olympic Games since 2004.
The bonuses paid to the black queens will serve as a morale booster ahead of their match against Zambia, as they will be aiming to grab their ticket for the Paris 2024 Olympic games to end a twenty-year drought of missing out on the competition.
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Story by: Rabbi Adu Agyei | univers.ug.edu.gh
