A member of Ghana's 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup winning team, Abdul Latif Salifu, has called on newly elected Ghana president H.E John Mahama to intervene in their financial investment package that was awarded to the team for their success.
The Black Satellites swept the board clean, winning the 2008 WAFU U-20 Championship, the 2009 U-20 Africa Cup of Nations and the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup without losing a game in all three tournaments under the guidance of coach Sellas Tetteh.
Following their glorious achievement then president John Evans Atta Mills invested an amount of 10,000 Ghana Cedis (around $7,800) for each of the 21 players over a fifteen-year period with SAS Finance Group.
Fast forward to 2025 and with the maturity year pegged in 2024, the players demanded payment which is now GHs 70,000 Cedis ($4,715) plus accumulated interest according to SAS Finance Group. Some of the players however claim that they are entitled to approximately GhS 170,000 ($11,450) over the 15-year period but are seeing otherwise.
Some players have expressed worry at the said amount and Latif Salifu implored John Mahama, who was then vice-president to help them rectify the anomaly. Despite already cashing out on the said amount, he is not happy about the turn of invents.
“Our current president, His Excellency John Mahama was the vice-president when the initiative was taken and I am sure that he is aware of what went into the investment,” Latif Salifu told Radio Gold Sports. "So I am pleading with him to intervene on our behalf if it is possible so that we can the make a headway regarding how much we are entitled to. I will also plead that the next time such an initiative would be taken for any other group of athletes, whoever is put in charge of the project must explain things for every player to understand."
“The investment the then government made for us is very good because the late President Atta Mills had great foresight and we would be happy if what we were expecting is what we are seeing now. It was a good decision to do that for us,” Salifu told Radio Gold Sports. "Going forward, if any group wins a championship and such an investment package is done for them, it would help a great deal but all they need is to be given clarity as to how they can go about things.”
Ghana defeated Brazil 4-3 in a penalty shootout following a 0-0 draw to capture the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup, becoming Africa's first-ever champion at the premier youth football showcase event.
Comments