Retired Ghanaian footballer Emmanuel Armah, also known as Armah Senegal, has stated that the Ministry of Youth and Sports’ decision to disclose the Black Stars’ budget had a negative impact on the team’s performance.
In an interview on Rainbow Sports, Armah described the public announcement of the budget as “completely needless” and criticised Minister Kofi Adams for slashing the funds and making the information public.
The senior national team, the Black Stars, drew 1-1 with Chad in a 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifier on Thursday, September 4, 2025. Ghana took an early lead, but Chad secured a late equalizer. The result has led to widespread criticism from the public, with some calling for the dismissal of Coach Otto Addo.
Emmanuel Armah, however, believes the team’s struggles were rooted in the budget controversy.
“I was disappointed in the Sports Minister for doing that. We have never witnessed this before,” Armah said. “It was needless for him to make the budget public. We had a crucial match, and all of a sudden, you come out to inform Ghanaians that the budget had been slashed. That needless incident affected the morale of the team,” he told host Fantastic KG.
He went on to blame the Minister for the disappointing outcome. “I am sorry to the Minister, but it was needless, and he should be blamed for the team’s defeat. As a leader, he ought to have been circumspect with his decision.”
Armah also criticized the players’ performance, describing it as “terrible.”
“The game was disappointing,” he continued. “We expected the team to secure the maximum points, but unfortunately, that could not happen. The performance was terrible. You scored the first goal and allowed Chad to equalize. It was as if they were just jogging on the field. I don’t know why they did that.”
He concluded by urging the players to accept criticism, respect former footballers, and improve their performance, emphasizing that their success is vital to the morale of the nation. “We have to encourage the players to do better because we cannot allow them to mess up the team.”
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
