Ghana ‘ball boy’ pocketed same appearance fee as players at 2014 World Cup… and the ‘official’ drummer received more than £3,000

Dzamefe report aims to unpick a multitude of financial issues
Ghana were eliminated in group stages at the 2014 World Cup
Players went on strike before their final group game against Portugal
Report reveals that ‘ball boy’ Ismail Hamidu was paid same amount per game as players, coach and doctor

Published:
22:37 GMT, 25 June 2015

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Updated:
16:58 GMT, 26 June 2015

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Ghana players almost boycotted their final group game of the 2014 World Cup over appearance fees, and it has now emerged that even the ‘ball boy’ was earning the same as the star players.

Asamoah Gyan, Michael Essien and Co went on strike before being eliminated in Brazil, with President John Dramani Mahama eventually flying out £1.8million to settle the pay dispute.

A 396-page report has investigated the Black Stars’ disappointing first-round exit and reveals that staff, from coach James Kwesi Appiah to doctor Adam Baba, were paid the equal amount of $100,000 (£64,000), a fee which also applies to Equipment Officer Ismail Hamidu.

Ghana players almost boycotted a group game and it has emerged they were paid the same as the ‘ball boy’

The Dzamefe report also found a fee of $5,263 (£3,345) was paid to Ghana’s official drummer.

A world in which an international kit man is paid the same as the star players is tough to imagine, and the Ghana FA attempted to vindicate his earnings by categorising Hamidu as a member of the ‘technical team’.

But according to the report, which was released on Monday and aims to unpick a multitude of financial issues, (sic) ‘it is outrageous for the equipment officer (ball boy) for example to be categorized under technical team to receive $100,000 appearance fee.’

Last year, American production company Bugeater Films announced their intention to turn the cash controversy into a movie.