Ghana Clears Back Pay for Black Stars Coaches, Settles Years of Salary Arrears

The Ministry of Sports and Recreation has cleared all outstanding salaries owed to both current and former Black Stars coaches, resolving a long-running financial issue that dates back to 2020.

The payments follow a comprehensive audit and coordinated inter-agency effort led by Minister Kofi Iddie Adams. Coaches from various periods of service, including those who left their roles years ago, have now been fully compensated.

Former head coach Charles Kwablan Akonnor received the largest settlement, taking home $120,000 in unpaid salary. His assistant, David Duncan, was paid $40,000. Chris Hughton, dismissed after Ghana‘s early exit from the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in Côte d’Ivoire, received $68,904 in back pay and sign-on fees. Assistants George Boateng and Mas-Ud Didi Dramani were also paid $20,833 and $12,500 respectively.

The current coaching staff, led by Otto Addo, who was reappointed in March 2024, had not been paid since October 2024. They have now received payments through March 2025, with Addo alone receiving over $420,000 for the six-month period. Support staff including Joseph Laumann ($75,000), John Paintsil ($64,864), Fatau Dauda ($19,459), and Team Coordinator Francis Bugri Tampuli ($33,000) were also compensated.

However, salaries for April and May 2025 remain unpaid, indicating the issue is not entirely resolved. Maxwell Konadu, who served as an assistant under Milovan Rajevac from September 2021 to January 2022, received $30,000 in overdue wages.

Although the Ghana Football Association (GFA) handled the coaches’ contracts, salary payments have traditionally been the government’s responsibility. This latest round of payments marks a significant step in settling long-standing obligations and reaffirms the state’s role in supporting national team staff.