Dramatic events unfolded in the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) on Tuesday night as Cameroon and Gambia engaged in a captivating match in their final group game.

Christopher Wooh’s 91st-minute goal not only propelled the Indomitable Lions to the next stage of the competition but also sealed Ghana’s exit from the tournament.

Despite finishing third in Group B with only two points out of a possible nine, the Black Stars not only failed to secure advancement but also missed out on a substantial $30,000.

Therefore, if by some miracle, Ghana had qualified for the Round of 16 with such a disappointing performance, each player would have received over $30,000 from taxpayers, and the technical team members would have collectively earned over $60,000 for this subpar output.

This lackluster performance has left the author with no sympathy for the players and their situation.

With the Africa Games just 40 days away, Ghana, the host country, is facing challenges. Athletes, including boxers, track and field athletes, and badminton players, only recently moved to Cape Coast for their training camp, where they are reportedly cramped into tiny cubicles with three individuals per room. The Ghana Olympics Committee (GOC) is actively seeking $50,000 to support its members’ preparation for the Games, but the ministry claims to have insufficient funds for this purpose.

Despite financial constraints, the ministry has set ambitious targets for Ghanaian athletes to finish in the top 5 of the medal table at the Africa Games, aiming to win at least 100 medals. In the previous Africa Games in Morocco, Ghana secured only 13 medals, leaving a considerable gap of 87 medals to fulfill the set target.

With the Olympic Games just six months away, not a single Ghanaian boxer has qualified. The Ghana Boxing Federation is in need of economy-class tickets for its boxers to participate in a qualifying event in Italy next month. However, the ministry has yet to procure these tickets, which would cost less than $20,000 for the approximately 10 boxers.

In a perplexing decision, the ministry spent $600,000 to transport fans to watch the Black Stars and paid $400 as per diems to over 200 fans. Meanwhile, financial obligations to the Black Princesses for their WAFU B Girls’ competition victory in June 2023 remain unfulfilled.

Similarly, outstanding winning bonuses for the Black Queens in three rounds of qualifying matches and owed bonuses to the Black Princesses for their three rounds of qualifiers leading to a seventh consecutive U-20 Women’s World Cup qualification have yet to be addressed.

As the Youth Resource Centers decay due to a lack of funds from the National Youth Authority (NYA) under the Sports Ministry, the challenges within Ghana’s sports administration continue to raise concerns.