Former Minister for Youth and Sports, Edwin Nii Lante Vanderpuye, has said Kwesi Nyantakyi’s conduct has ultimately culminated in shame for Ghana, following the lifetime ban from football handed the former Ghana Football Association President by FIFA.
Mr. Vanderpuye told Citi News all this could have been avoided if Ghana had been more proactive in the face of alleged malfeasance before investigative journalist, Anas Aremeyaw Anas’ exposé on Ghana football.
Mr. Vanderpuye took over at the Sports Ministry in 2016, and friction with Kwesi Nyantakyi and Ghana Football Association defined his tenure.
“People thought I was on a witch hunt and today look at what has befallen our friend, our brother, our fellow Ghanaian. The disgrace and the shame are for all of us as a country and as a people involved in football and in sport,” he said.
The former Minister added that perceived corruption ought not to be taken for granted.
“That is why it is important that when any one of us is doing or is engaged in an act that we know will ultimately lead to any injury in the image and the reputation of the country as a whole, there is the need for us to be proactive in making sure that we deal with the situation and we try to advise that person to reform and to change his way of doing things.”
Several other high ranking members in the Ghana Football Association were also implicated in acts of corruption.
But Kwesi Nyantakyi, who was then one of the most powerful men in world football, was viewed as the biggest casualty of a probe that extended beyond the borders of Ghana.
He was caught on tape outlining the process involved in setting up an agency that would broker a sponsorship deal for the Ghana Premier League.
The dummy company in question was to ensure that all promises made by the Ghana Football Association with regards to the contract were adhered to.
The deal under discussion was to be worth $5 million for a year for five years.
As part of the deal the, FA would allegedly pay an agency fee that ranged between 20 to 25 percent to the agency that Kwesi Nyantakyi proposed to set up.
Kwesi Nyantakyi was first handed a 90-day provisional ban in June 2018.
The suspension was further extended by ninety 90 days in September 2018, before the announcement of the lifetime ban Tuesday.
A statement on Fifa’s website announcing the ban said “the adjudicatory chamber of the independent Ethics Committee has banned Mr Kwesi Nyantakyi, former President of the Ghana Football Association (GFA), for life from all football-related activities (administrative, sports or any other) at both national and international level.”
“The adjudicatory chamber found Mr Nyantakyi guilty of having violated art. 19 (Conflicts of interest), art. 21 (Bribery and corruption) and art. 22 (Commission) of the FIFA Code of Ethics, 2012 edition. As a consequence, Mr Nyantakyi is banned for life from all football-related activities (administrative, sports or any other) at both national and international level. Additionally, a fine in the amount of CHF 500,000 has been imposed on Mr. Nyantakyi.”
