Justice Dzamefe Laments Inaction on 2014 World Cup Scandal Report

A nominee for the Supreme Court of Ghana, Justice Senyo Dzamefe, has stated that some recommendations of the Commission of Enquiry into the 2014 World Cup Scandal that engulfed Ghana football that he chaired, have been implemented but other recommendations haven’t been implemented.

Justice Dzamefe said this when he appeared before the Appointments Committee to be vetted as a nominee to be appointed at the Supreme Court of Ghana.

The long tenured lawyer chaired the Commission of Enquiry set up by President of Ghana John Dramani in the wake of Ghana’s National Men’s Football Team- Black Stars- participation in the 2014 FIFA World Cup that was rocked by a fleet of controversies bordering on alleged corruption and financial misappropriation.

Lawyer and sports administrator Moses Foh-Amoaning Esq. and Kofi Anokye Owusu Darko, a sports enthusiast were the other members of the three member Commission.

Ghana lost to Portugal and the United States of America to crash out at the group stage at the 2014 World Cup in embarrassing fashion after Black Stars players threatened to abandon its final group game against Portugal forcing the government to fly $3 million to Brazil to settle the debts causing wide spread disdain for the Black Stars.

Black Stars midfielders Kevin-Prince Boateng and Sulley Muntari were dismissed from camp over disciplinary issues stemming from the off-field chaos.

Addressing the issue, Justice Dzamefe revealed that some recommendations have been implemented but others are still yet to be implemented stating,

“We said players should not be paid cash. We all saw what happened in Brazil when we had to fly money to Brazil for payment…it was one bad thing for Ghana. We also recommended that the state should not sponsor supporters to fly them to countries where we are playing.”

However, the issue of flying supporters to support the Black Stars still happens with the Black Stars campaign at the 2023 AFCON in Cote D’Ivoire leading to demonstrations over unpaid allowances from the Ministry of Sports and Recreation.

“We were thinking that instead of flying people from Ghana and booking hotels and feeding them, why don’t we buy tickets for Ghanaians who are in that country. We are also recommended that, every time the Black Stars play, at least three local players should be in the team for continuity. We also recommended that Parliament should know all matches to be played in a year ahead of time.”

“Sometimes, organizers wait when it’s a week or two days to the match then they bring their budget. We recommended that the state should know far ahead of time so that they can prepare towards those matches not to wait till two days and then they bring the budget then you have to by all means find money and send the players” Dzamefe added.