“The amount we got is far lower than what was promised” – Abeiku Quansah, a member of 2009 Black Satellites

The late professor John Evans Fiifi Atta Mills, the 11th president of Ghana, welcomed and praised the youngsters led by head coach Sellas Tetteh and skipper Andre Ayew for their success in the 2009 FIFA U20 World Cup hosted by Egypt.

After the energy-sapping 120 minutes of intense action against Brazil in Cairo which ended in a goalless draw, Ghana won on penalties to become the first country in Africa to lift the FIFA U20 World Cup in 2009. It was historic and no African country is yet to repeat that feat ever since.

The then-president of Ghana decided to honour the young heroes by offering them cash. He and the Ghana Football Association decided to invest for 15 years in the Black Satellites.

Amount invested in 2009!

The Ghana Football Association (GFA) invested GHS 210,000 in 2009 for the Black Satellites, with each player receiving GHS 10,000. The money was expected to mature in October 2024.

Abeiku Quansah’s disappointment

Abeiku Quansah, a member of the Black Satellites team that won the 2009 World Cup in Egypt has expressed his displeasure in the amount given to the squad.

“The amount we got is far lower than what was promised. You can’t even buy land in Accra with that money. Maybe you can buy land in my village, but you can’t build any property with that money.

“The money we got was GH₵ 77,000, and when you look at the amount that was invested and what we got now, there was no significant benefit from it. If it had been some private savings that we did with that amount, we would have had much bigger returns than we got, Abeiku added.

Financial experts have revealed that each member is supposed to get around 220,000 cedis considering everything. This shows that the players have been cheated upon by whoever gave them the money.

“It is very sad that this is all we could get. They should have honoured their promise so that the younger generation would be motivated. It is unfortunate, and it is a good example for the young ones coming,” Abeiku Quansah told Glorious Sports.

Two members of the winning team, Emmanuel Agyemen Badu and Andre Ayew who skippered the team in Egypt in 2009 have called for explanations from the Ghana Football Association because they feel the GH₵ 77,000 is not enough.