Ghana May Lose Tariq Lamptey to Bribery and Corruption

It is not surprising that the current coach of the Black Stars, C. K. Akonnor, has been roaming around the globe to scout for talent to augment the national team.

The pool of local talent with the ability to perform at the highest level has drastically reduced. The practice of poaching talent with Ghanaian ancestry abroad is not entirely a new practice in Ghana. The Black Starlets and Black Satellites have had Ghanaians abroad with eligibility to play for other countries for tournaments when required.

However, Ghana is struggling to attract Ghanaian players living abroad with speculative reasons ranging from lack of attention after a single poor game, juju and how the national teams are handled. Tariq Lamptey, a Chelsea Academy graduate, playing for Brighton in the English Premier League, is a player who Ghana is attempting to attract to the Blackstars.

The move by the national team handlers is a step in the right direction as Tariq’s performances as a right full-back has been stupendous.

The diminutive and pacey full-back could be a valuable addition to the current Black Stars which has no consistent full-back after the retirement of John Paintsil. Unfortunately, Ghana’s quest to lure Tariq is becoming increasingly challenging not only because he qualifies to play for the Three Lions, English national team but because of unfair treatment by unspecified handlers of the Starlets in the past.

Kessben Sports host, Sir Joe Laka, made this assertion on the popular radio sports program, Mid-Field Action, today (28/09/2020). Sir Joe Laka claimed that the parents of Tariq paid monies to facilitate his inclusion into the Black Starlets but his inclusion never materialized and the parents have been irked by this. Sir Joe Laka insisted that the story was under investigation, and he was not in a position to name the people who had collected the bribe from Tariq’s father.

Indeed, Tariq when quizzed about which national team he has decided to play for, suggested that he wanted to concentrate on his club career.

I believe the Ghana Football Association should investigate this story to find a lasting solution to a situation where Ghana stands the risk of losing talented players due to bribery and corruption.

By Eric Kwaku Minkah