Former Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports, Joseph Yamin has expressed huge disappointment in comments made by former Black Stars coach James Kwasi in his book, which accused the former president, John Dramani Mahama and his NDC government of sabotaging him during the 2014 FIFA World Cup Finals staged in Brazil.
The Black Stars did not only fail to advance from the group stage, but also left an indelible mark of public ridicule which despised the state in the eyes of the world.
James Kwasi Appiah, in his book titled ‘Leaders Don’t Have To Yell’, claimed that the government of the day under president John Dramani Mahama wanted him sacked before the mundial and refused to give him the needed support to help him deliver to the expectations of Ghanaians.
He further alleged, that the then president of the Ghana Football Association (GFA), Kwasi Nyantakyi told him that the President, John Mahama has ordered him (Nyantakyi) to sack him as coach of the Black Stars due to the nation’s poor show at the mundial.
Speaking in an interview with Kumas-based FOX FM, Mr Yamin, firmly debunked the claims of Kwasi Appiah, saying the government rather offered the former Asante Kotoko star every support he needed to succeed, giving evidences time and space cannot permit to be named here.
On the contrary, Yamin has alleged, that Mr. Kwasi Nyantakyi’s FA rather proposed to the government that Kwasi Appiah does not have the requisite ability to lead Ghana to a successful world cup tournament and requested for him to be fired. However, the government, specifically the sports ministry headed by Elvis Afriyie Ankrah insisted that Kwasi Appiah be maintained having led the team to qualify for the mundial.
”One of the reasons why Kwasi [Appiah] went to the World Cup, if the government at that time did not support Kwasi Appiah he wouldn’t have gone to the World Cup”, Yamin insisted. “Proposals for Kwasi to be sacked before the World Cup started before we qualified to the World Cup but Kwasi got the support of the government of which I was part of that government (National Democratic Congress)’”, he alleged.
Asked whether it was the GFA led by Kwesi Nyantakyi that proposed the sacking of Kwasi Appiah, he replied. “Was there any other GFA? If there wasn’t any other GFA apart from the one led by Nyantakyi then why ask again?
”There is an FA and there is a government, the FA proposeing that Kwasi Appiah, in fact there were rumours that the FA will remove him and bring in another person to lead the Black Stars, but the government of the day, that time Elvis Afriyie Ankrah as the Minister for Youth and Sports, me as the Deputy Minister for Youth and Sports and government gave Kwasi Appiah all the support he needed to stay on as the coach.
”Especially after qualifying the team to the World Cup. So why is it that at a launch of your Book you will want to paint a picture that it was the government that didn’t want you and ordered for you to be sacked? It’s a pity and it’s a very unfortunate a statement coming from Kwasi Appiah”, he stressed.
