Midfield duo Mubarak Wakaso and Afriyie Acquah were in the Black Stars team travelling for games against Japan and Iceland but failed to travel with the squad not long after a communication on slashed bonuses hit the team over the weekend, it has emerged.
Ghana national team players are pegged a $5,000 appearance fee per friendly. But they were surprised with a late development ahead of their departure that each player would now receive $2,000 for each of the two games they were set to embark on a travel for.
Wakaso and Acquah, according to reports, came up with excuses after the news which hit the team less than 24 hours before their travel. Sources close the latter reveal he is set to make a U-turn and could travel to join the team in Japan on his own on Monday after explaining there was a ‘miscommunication and misinformation’.
Coach Kwasi Appiah, finds the development “frustrating” as he would now have 18 players available.
Striker Richmond Boakye already pulled out of the friendlies with injury.
The Black Stars contingent safely arrived in Japan in the early hours of Monday.
The contingent, which had eight players from Accra on Saturday, had the likes of Albert Adomah, Raphael Dwamena, Edwin Gyasi, Kwesi Okyere Wriedt, Attamah Larweh, Thomas Partey and Isaac Sackey joining during a transit at Amsterdam.
China-based winger Frank Acheampong and Kassim Nuhu joined camp directly from his base.
Conflicting figures
According to sources, when GFA Protocol Offer Alex Asante broke the news of a slash in bonuses to the ‘local’ contingent in Accra, he explained that they have only received $500,000 of an estimated $600,000 needed for the two games. Hence the $100,000 deficit has accounted for the decision to cut the bonuses by more than half.
The figures mentioned are thus in conflict with the official amounts announced by the Ministry of Youth and Sports a couple of weeks ago.
The Black Stars will face the Samurai Blue at the Nissan Stadium in Yokohama on May 30 before traveling to Reykjavik to play Iceland on June 7.
Coach Kwasi Appiah’s invited players
Goalkeepers (2):
Richard Ofori (Maritzburg United FC, South Africa), Lawrence Ati-Zigi (Sochaux, France)
Defenders (5):
Lumor Abgenyenu (Sporting CP, Portugal), Andy Yiadom (Reading, England), Rashid Sumaila (Al Gharafa, Qatar), Nicholas Opoku (Club African, Tunisia), Kassim Nuhu (Young Boys, Switzerland)
Midfielders (10):
Joseph Attamah (İstanbul Başakşehir F.K., Turkey), Isaac Sackey (Alanyaspor, Turkey), Afriyie Acquah (Torino, Italy), Frank Acheampong (Tianjin Teda, China), Mubarak Wakaso (Deportivo Alaves, Spain), Thomas Partey (Atletico Madrid, Spain), Edwin Gyasi (CSKA Sofia, Bulgaria), Thomas Agyepong (NAC Breda, Holland), Nana Ampomah (Waasland-Beveren, Belgium), Albert Adomah (Aston Villa, England)
Strikers (4):
Kwasi Okyere Wriedt (Bayern Munich, Germany), Emmanuel Okyere Boateng (Levante, Spain), Raphael Dwamena (FC Zurich, Switzerland), Richmond Boakye (Jiansgu Suning, China)
