Ghanaian players are forced to travel abroad because their salaries are not lucrative – Odartey Lamptey

Former Ghana international Nii Odartey Lamptey has indicated that meagre salaries paid to Ghanaian players in the local leagues is the reason behind the mass exodus of players in the West African country.

Last week, videos of Ghanaian players plying their trade in countries like Ethiopia, Dr Congo and others went viral asking for assistance to be evacuated home due to the hardships they are going through as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Reacting to the issue Lamptey said that the players will not trek for greener pastures if their earnings in Ghana was lucrative.

“The problem is that players in Ghana think they are not getting enough money here so they go elsewhere. Who are you to advise him not to go? At the end of the day, everyone talks about life after football so you have to take care of yourself,” Lamptey told Joy FM.

“If we are not able to change our attitude and pay our players well, this thing won’t change. I understand that sponsorship is a problem so some of the clubs find it difficult to pay players but I’m sure we have a lot of huge companies in Ghana.”

The former Eleven Wise coach believes that the Kurt Okraku led Ghana Football Association will find innovative ways to combat the problem.

“With this new FA [led by Kurt], I believe he is doing things behind the scenes. We should be able to bounce back. Clubs should be able to get sponsors and we should be able to pay players well. I was very sad to see the players in the videos from Ethiopia, India and others.”

The borders of Ghana are still closed in order to reduce the import of the virus.