It has emerged that the buses presented to some nine clubs by the Ghana Football Association (GFA) on Wednesday, November 20, 2024, are not brand new.
Further details, as shared by award-winning sports journalist Collins Atta Poku, indicate that the Hyundai buses presented to the clubs are actually a downgrade from some Chinese-made buses initially imported into the country by the GFA for the same purpose.
Following reports of the FA’s presentation of the buses to the clubs, Atta Poku, in a post on social media, alleged that the FA indeed imported some buses into the country but failed to get the government to settle the import duties.
“I fully expect the GFA to deflect by presenting these buses to 9 Division One & 4 Women Premier League clubs today.
“I will explain how they failed to convince the government to clear the actual buses that came, got a private transport company to clear & take them & got this instead,” he stated.
In a subsequent tweet to support his claim, the journalist shared an image of a Higer brand bus, indicating that it was the actual brand and model the GFA imported into the country.
He further revealed that the FA, following their failure to clear the buses, went into an agreement with a private transport company to clear the buses and compensate the FA with the second-hand Hyundai buses after costing.
“This is the bus they imported. They couldn’t clear it. A private transport company did and took them after costing plus cost of clearance and gave them what you saw today instead,” he stated.
Meanwhile, there are rising public concerns over the safety and integrity of the 9 buses distributed by the Ghana Football Association on Wednesday.
Viral visuals of the interior of one of the buses taken following the presentation show a deteriorated steering wheel, seats, and dashboard compartment, suggesting that the buses are indeed second-hand (already used).
The brouhaha around the buses is coming just a few days after the Ghana Black Stars ended their 2025 African Cup of Nations qualification campaign on an abysmal note.
The Black Stars, under coach Otto Addo, failed to qualify for the 2025 AFCON tournament.
After six matches, Ghana was left at the bottom of Group F with just three points, recording three losses and three draws.
In Group F, Angola and Sudan qualified, while Ghana and Niger failed to progress to the next stage of the competition.
It is the first time in 21 years that Ghana has failed to qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
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