It could be a coincidence but many football fans are prepared to bet that the reported Boardroom row over payment of bonus may have accounted for the Black Stars of Ghana’s rather unimpressive performance against The Squirrels of Benin in their recent World Cup/Africa Cup qualifying match in Kumasi.

In the match under review, Ghana had the tonic of a first minute goal but instead of the expected goal harvest, Benin hit back gallantly and in the end the Stars had to sweat to maintain the thin lead that earned them three valuable points to top their group table.

Media reports after the match highlighted on an altercation between the new Minister in charge of Sports Muntaka Mubarak on the question of winning bonus for the team. It is reported that in line with the new government policy of cutting down costs, winning bonus was gong to be reduced from US$8000 to US$6000. The players were obviously not enthused and the popular belief is that they were not in the right mood to hit their peak.

Officials of the Ghana Football Association (GFA) have however played down on these speculations and they argue it was just one of the inconsistencies associated with football that robbed Ghana of a massive win. The assurance is that there is absolute peace in camp.

Kofi Nsiah, secretary of the GFA holds the view that Benin offered a tough opposition. “Ghana are normally slow starters and even though the players seemed to lack endurance as a result of their tight schedule abroad, the important thing is that we took a great step by claiming all the three points”, he told me in an interview at the FA headquarters in Accra.

Kofi Nsiah (in shirt) GFA Secretary.
He says there is no cause for alarm

The FA Secretary is confident that the team would gel as the competition progresses and he was confident that Ghana would qualify for South Africa 2010.

Kofi Manu, a well known football critic and at various times Accra representative of Premier division clubs, B.A.United, Arsenal and Ashgold thinks the Black Stars need an infusion of new blood .Hear him “We need youngsters who will be motivated to fight for honours. Most of the current stars have already made it and there is very little left for them to prove. Having already played at the World Cup the motivation is not as strong as those who are fighting to play at that top level for the first time”.

Kofi Manu recalled that when Cameroon burst on to the world stage in 1982, the players subsequently became swollen headed and standards fell. Youngsters led by Samuel Etoo had to be infused into the team to make them shine again.

Kofi Manu a football critic, says Black Stars need new blood.

He cited The Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire has a rich blend of the youth and the experienced and suggested that Ghana should follow that path. Well, the debate still continues.

Nearly a week since the Ghana – Benin match, it still continues to dominate the newspaper headlines and in the electronic media as the numerous football experts keep on propounding all kinds of theories that would make the Black Stars qualify for their second successive World Cup appearance.

June 6 is quite a long way to go for the next assignment against Mali in Bamako but fans can’t wait to see the master plan that would make the Black Stars once more a formidable football force in Africa.

Cheers everybody and keep loving sports. Your comments are welcome.