Kwesi Appiah claims prejudice in salary delay
Former Ghana coach Kwesi Appiah has said that he is being treated in a way no white coach in Africa would be as he awaits salary arrears totaling nearly $200,000 from his time in charge of the Black Stars. Appiah's second spell in charge of Ghana, which started in April 2017, ended at the turn of the year.
"I was owed money since August 2019 when there was no Covid-19," Appiah told a sports news website in Africa. "Would they owe a white coach for 11 months?"
The 59-year-old, who has previously said he feels 'disrespected' by the way his case is being handled, says he is owed $185,000, most of which covers five months' unpaid salary.
"(My predecessor) Avram Grant was not owed more than a month when his contract ended," Appiah explained.
In recent times, some white coaches in Africa such as Nigeria's Gernot Rohr have not been paid on time while others, such as Botswana coach, Adel Amrouche who holds both Algerian and Belgian citizenship, is still awaiting payment from an old job.
Appiah wants this practice of late payments to end for good.
"It's not right and should not be encouraged - irrespective of whether (the coach is) local or foreign," he added.
Both the U17 and U23 coaches declined to comment but U20 coach, Karim Zito confirmed that he is owed money.
Zito, a former international, was first drafted into the coaching set-up of Ghana's youth teams in 2013 when he was an assistant coach for the Under-23 team and says this is a familiar tale.
"We had only collected our salaries for three months when we received a letter stating that we will no longer be paid - no reason was given," Zito told BBC Sport Africa.
"I was appointed as coach of the (Under-20) national team in January this year but I am being owed. I will attribute the failure of to pay our salaries to the coronavirus pandemic."
Appiah's outstanding payment of $185,000 equates to five times his monthly salary of $35,000 in addition to a $10,000 bonus for beating Sao Tome prior to his contract expiring in December 2019.
Kofi Asare Brako, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Youth and Sports, has blamed the failure to pay the outstanding salary on the coronavirus pandemic causing a financial constraint on the ministry.
"The salary of the head coach of the Black stars has always been paid through a sponsorship package, and it is unfortunate this has now dragged into the period of the coronavirus pandemic," as told by Kofi Asare.
The Ministry of Youth and Sports has not given an exact timeframe as to when Appiah's salary will be paid but Brako assures it will paid 'soon'.
