Former Ghana U23 coach Abdul Malik Jabir believes the Football Association (GFA) should allocate part of its Caf and Fifa Covid-19 relief funds for coaches of national teams.
The national football governing body, last week announced a disbursement plan for a combined sum of $1.8 million [€1.6m] for various industry stakeholders including the men and women’s Premier League clubs, men’s Division Two clubs, Regional Football Associations (RFAs), and more, as a support package in the wake of the coronavirus disruptions.
Part of the funds were also reserved for the West Africans’ various national teams.
“Why is it that they shared the money all through but they never thought about the liabilities they came to meet like the monies owed the U23 national team under me?” Jabir said,
“They owe us; they know they owe us. Our match bonuses and salaries should be paid. Now, money has come, they are sharing because that is their interest and they don’t think about us”.
“When I call, they see my number but won’t pick up…they never answered my call. I just want to remind them that they shouldn’t only think about the current”.
“If you owe us and you think we should forgo it, I don’t think that is right. That’s why I have come out to tell them that as long as they now have money and they don’t pay us, we are here still waiting, and we are not going to forgive them.”
While Jabir wants coaches to benefit from the national teams’ package, the allocation has generated controversy, with many questioning its necessity as the national teams are believed to be funded by the Government of Ghana.
“On record, the government doesn’t bear all the costs of the national teams, the GFA also has a portion [of expenditure] it takes, especially with the junior national teams,” GFA Executive Council member George Amoakoh said
“Apart from the Black Stars which is dominantly financed by the government, the other national teams do camp for a while which the GFA has to finance because we cannot always rely on the government.
“For the national teams, the government mostly takes care of the feeding and the FA does the rest.”
Jabir, a former coach of Asante Kotoko, applied for the vacant Ghana technical director job but recently revealed he was unsuccessful in his bid for the role.
