Ghana's U-20 women reached the 2016 World Cup, yet Didi Dramani says three of their four qualifying bonuses are still unpaid.
Ghana's Black Princesses took the country to a FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup in 2016, and according to the coach who led them there, some of the players are still waiting to be paid for it. Didi Dramani says three of the four qualifying bonuses the squad earned on the road to Papua New Guinea remain outstanding.
The former Hearts of Oak boss said that over the years, members of that group have kept calling him, hoping he can use his voice to push for the money. "As I speak with you now, since 2016 when I sent the Black Princesses to the World Cup, they have only paid one of four qualifying winning bonuses," he said in a radio interview. He added that the players see him as someone who can press their case.
What clearly stings Dramani is the silence as much as the debt. He argued that the officials responsible should at least have made time to speak with the players and acknowledge that they know about the situation. "It is not supposed to be so," was his blunt verdict.
The claim puts a spotlight on how women's footballers are treated across the continent. These are athletes who delivered a World Cup place for their country and are still waiting on rewards promised for doing it. For a generation of Ghanaian talent trying to build careers in the women's game, the way these promises are honoured sends a strong message about how much the effort is valued.
