The world of pay at the international level is a topic that isn’t often covered, but is often a source of contention for players and FIFA alike. No other continent may be more prone to irregularities than that of Africa, and it nearly reared its ugly head at the 2014 World Cup.
However, according to a CNBC.com report, Ghana players who had yet to receive their appearance fees are going to be getting them thanks to a flight from the African nation just in the nick of time.
“His Excellency President John Dramani Mahama has personally intervened to have the Black Stars World Cup appearance fees paid by Wednesday afternoon,” the association said via press release.
What makes this situation different than any other dispute over World Cup pay? Not only is the president of the country personally intervening, it’s how he’s intervening. See, instead of just wiring players the money directly to bank accounts, the players requested payment in person.
Not just in person, but with the $3 million in straight up cash homie. From the report:
Deputy Sports Minister, Joseph Yamin, told Accra’s Citi 97.3 FM on Tuesday that the government is flying $3 million in cash to Brazil in order to pay the team. The delay came from a disagreement about the payment mode and landing rights for the chartered plane carrying the cash, Yamin told the station.
Can you imagine playing for your country’s honor, yet having so little trust in the governing body or the leader of your country that you can’t trust a wire transfer to be good for payment?
Yikes. But really, should we expect anything less from a FIFA-associated organization to begin with?
At least we don’t have a team threatening to walk out of the World Cup or revolting against a manager like we had in the 2010 World Cup with France’s behavior towards its management (albeit not over payment issues).
