Ghana Football Association President Kurt Okraku says he has no objection to the Black Stars budget being disclosed to the public but is questioning why the football team is being singled out while other sectors of the economy are not subjected to the same scrutiny.
President John Mahama, during the State of the Nation Address in February 2025, announced a move toward greater transparency in government spending on national teams, directing the Sports Ministry to publish budgets for the various squads.
Sports Minister Kofi Adams subsequently revealed that the government had reduced the Black Stars’ budget from $2 million to $1.3 million ahead of the September 2025 World Cup qualifying matches. A further budget disclosure is anticipated for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which gets underway on June 11.
Speaking to Asaase Radio, Okraku acknowledged he was not opposed to the transparency push but raised concerns about the selective nature of the directive.
“I don’t have any problem with making the Black Stars budget public,” he said. “But why are we not asking every sector of the economy to make their budgets public, and why only Black Stars? Why create confusion where there’s no need for confusion? The GFA is a private entity. We dwell and waste our time on things which are needless.”
On the pitch, Ghana is set to play Austria on March 27 and Germany three days later, followed by a friendly against Mexico on May 22 as part of their World Cup preparations. At the tournament itself, the Black Stars will open their campaign against Panama on June 17, with further Group L matches against England and Croatia to follow.