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Associated Press
Shambolic

Andre Ayew and Asamoah Gyan forced to pay for teammates' airfares before AFCON qualifier

It’s not the first time the players have disputed with the country’s government.

GHANA FACE RWANDA in an African Cup of Nations qualifier on 3 September but the most high-profile Black Stars’ players have been forced to step in and pay for flights for their team-mates to make the trip.

Andre Ayew and Asamoah Gyan have reportedly had to step in and assist with the younger members of the squad getting to Ghana’s capital of Accra after a rift between the country’s Football Association and Sports Ministry.

Ayew, who signed for West Ham in the summer, is allegedly covering the flight costs for four of his team-mates with Gyan helping out too.

Swansea City v Sunderland - Barclays Premier League - Liberty Stadium Ayew in action for Swansea last season. David Davies David Davies

The team are already qualified for next year’s continental tournament but the FA have said that the behaviour of the Ministry will still have a huge impact on the team.

They feel it’s immensely poor preparation for a World Cup qualifier against Uganda that’s set for October.

Ghana’s Sports Minister Nii Lante Vanderpuye spoke on radio earlier today.

“There’s nothing to lose in the Rwanda qualifier”, he said.

Black Stars’ matches gleans all funding from the FA budget. This Rwanda qualifier alone costs $400,000. We don’t have unlimited resources. We’ve had to borrow at times to fund other sports. We’ve athletes to send to the Paralympics and our women’s team also have an upcoming match.”

He continued by saying Ghana can use local players for the qualifier.

This is far from the first time the players have been embroiled in a high-profile stand-off with their country’s government.

During the 2014 World Cup, a plane was flown to Brazil with £3 million cash on board after Ghana players threatened to boycott their final, must-win group game against Portugal because of a non-payment of appearance fees.

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