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[caption id="attachment_930569" align="alignnone" width="300"] Sport, Football, FIFA World Cup, Dortmund, 27th June 2006, Brazil 3 v Ghana 0, Stephen Appiah, Ghana captain (Photo by Bob Thomas Sports Photography via Getty Images)[/caption]
Stephen Appiah has revealed that he made high sacrifices by paying winning bonuses and paying for flight tickets to receive the interest of players of playing for the Black Stars in the past.
The former captain of the senior national team made this revelation during an interview with Kumasi-based Sompa FM.
According to the former Juventus midfielder, at some point, he had to pay for the players' plane tickets because they found the Black Stars unexciting.
He added that he was eager to assist the Black Stars in regaining their competitive status but has been hesitant due to unknown reasons, stated that he once paid winning bonuses to players after games.
"One thing that is painful is that some of us we are very humble. But when you know your value, you don't want to do certain things or mingle with certain people. We all want to help because we have helped before even if it wasn't enough," he said
"There was a time everybody(players) had no interest in playing for Black Stars. There was a time I had to pay for players' plane tickets to Ghana and there was a time I paid winning bonuses," he added.
The 42-year-old, who is not impressed with how the team is run currently, implied that he regrets spending his money on the team, but hopes things will get better.
"So today if I see how things are been done, I ask myself why did I waste my money? But we hope that one day it will be well."
Stephen Appiah led Ghana to their first World Cup in 2006. The Black Stars finished the tournament as the only African country to advance from their group.
Appiah returned to the team for the 2010 World Cup and helped them make history by reaching the quarter-finals, becoming the third African team to do so.
The Black Stars have failed to advance from the group stage in both of their last two World Cup appearances, and their best finish in the last two AFCON tournaments was a round-16 finish in 2019.
Stephen Appiah has revealed that he made high sacrifices by paying winning bonuses and paying for flight tickets to receive the interest of players of playing for the Black Stars in the past.
The former captain of the senior national team made this revelation during an interview with Kumasi-based Sompa FM.
According to the former Juventus midfielder, at some point, he had to pay for the players' plane tickets because they found the Black Stars unexciting.
He added that he was eager to assist the Black Stars in regaining their competitive status but has been hesitant due to unknown reasons, stated that he once paid winning bonuses to players after games.
"One thing that is painful is that some of us we are very humble. But when you know your value, you don't want to do certain things or mingle with certain people. We all want to help because we have helped before even if it wasn't enough," he said
"There was a time everybody(players) had no interest in playing for Black Stars. There was a time I had to pay for players' plane tickets to Ghana and there was a time I paid winning bonuses," he added.
The 42-year-old, who is not impressed with how the team is run currently, implied that he regrets spending his money on the team, but hopes things will get better.
"So today if I see how things are been done, I ask myself why did I waste my money? But we hope that one day it will be well."
Stephen Appiah led Ghana to their first World Cup in 2006. The Black Stars finished the tournament as the only African country to advance from their group.
Appiah returned to the team for the 2010 World Cup and helped them make history by reaching the quarter-finals, becoming the third African team to do so.
The Black Stars have failed to advance from the group stage in both of their last two World Cup appearances, and their best finish in the last two AFCON tournaments was a round-16 finish in 2019.