Mustapha Ussif, the Minister of Youth and Sports, revealed that Ghana used $3 million of its allocated funds for the 2023 African Cup of Nations.
Speaking on the floor of Parliament on Wednesday, he said that the Ministry had allocated roughly $8.5 million, of which the Finance Ministry had released $5 million for the competition’s initial phase.
The $5 million that was made available was designated to cover “… per diems, flight arrangements for the team, medicals, equipment, logistics and hospitality,” and his office did not use the $2 million that was left over.
“Mr Speaker, our estimated budget for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations tournament was $8,506,450.00 to cater for the team’s pre-tournament and the Tournament Phases (group stages, 1/16 stage, quarter-final, semi-final and final),” he stated.
“Of the $8,506,450.00, the Ministry of Finance released $5,071,840.36, of which US$3,070,067.81 was used for per diems, team travel, medical care, equipment, logistics, and lodging.
“This resulted in a surplus of $2,001,772.55, after our exit from the tournament,” he said.
Additionally, according to Mr. Ussif, the Sports Ministry raised roughly $400,000 to help the government provide the team with the best possible preparations.
It was reported that MTN Ghana contributed an amount of US$400,000.00 towards the expenditure of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations tournament, which was greatly appreciated by the Government.
The Minister clarified that no money was paid to the players as they did not qualify for the next round of the tournament. This was done as a measure to ensure the effective management of the country’s resources.
