Two former coaches of the senior men’s national football team, the Black Stars, are considering taking the Ghana Football Association (GFA) to court over a payment dispute that emerged following their dismissal from their coaching positions.
The Minister of Youth and Sports, Mustapha Ussif, revealed this development during a press briefing yesterday in Accra.
The coaches in question are Charles Akonnor and Milovan Rajevac, both of whom are still owed salaries from their terminated contracts as per the negotiated exits.
Akonnor was sacked in September 2021 with four months remaining on his $25,000 monthly contract, while Rajevac, who had signed a one-year deal, was appointed on a $30,000 per month contract that same month and subsequently dismissed in January 2022 with eight months left on his contract. Following their terminations, each coach received $100,000 as part of the separate termination negotiations.
The Minister acknowledged that the Ministry of Youth and Sports has been facing financial challenges, which have prevented them from adhering to the agreed payment schedule for the outstanding salaries owed to both coaches. As a result, the former coaches have threatened to seek legal redress against the GFA to claim their unpaid earnings.
According to the original contractual agreements between the coaches and the GFA, both Akonnor and Rajevac are entitled to their full salaries since they were dismissed before their contracts expired.
Speaking on the matter, Mr. Ussif stated, “Once the contracts of Milovan and CK (Akonnor) were terminated, we negotiated their exits and they were both paid $100,000 each after the negotiations. We still owe both of them, but we have a payment schedule which I admit we have been unable to follow because of constraints of funds.
“However, as and when we secure funds, we will be paying the two coaches. They have both written to the GFA threatening to go to court, but we have appealed to them that we are committed to ensuring that we settle whatever we have agreed with them.”
Credit: Graphic Sports
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