Nyantakyi's Ban Is a National Disgrace - Nii Lante Vanderpuye

Former Minister for Youth and Sports, Edwin Nii Lante Vanderpuye, has described Kwesi Nyantakyi's conduct and lifetime ban from FIFA as a national disgrace.

Mr Vanderpuye told Citi News that the development could have been avoided if Ghana had been more proactive in the face of alleged malfeasance before investigative journalist, Anas Aremeyaw Anas' exposé on Ghana football.

"People thought I was on a witch hunt but what I wanted us to avoid is what has befallen our friend, our brother, our fellow Ghanaian. The disgrace and the shame are for all of us as a country and as a people," he said.

The former Minister added that perceived corruption ought not to been taken for granted.

Several other high ranking members in the Ghana Football Association were also implicated in the acts of corruption.

But Kwesi Nyantakyi, who was then one of the most powerful men in world football, was viewed as the biggest casualty of a probe that extended beyond the borders of Ghana.

He was caught on tape outlining the process involved in setting up an agency that would broker a sponsorship deal for the Ghana Premier League.

The dummy company in question was to ensure that all promises made by the Ghana Football Association with regards to the contract were adhered to.

The deal under discussion was to be worth $ 5 million (GH? 24 million) for a year for five years.

As part of the deal the, FA would allegedly pay an agency fee that ranged between 20 to 25 per cent to the agency that Kwesi Nyantakyi proposed to set up.

Kwesi Nyantakyi was first handed a 90-day provisional ban in June 2018.

The suspension was further extended by ninety 90 days in September 2018, before the announcement of the lifetime ban on Tuesday.

A statement on FIFA's website announcing the ban said "the adjudicatory chamber of the independent Ethics Committee has banned Mr Kwesi Nyantakyi, former President of the Ghana Football Association (GFA), for life from all football-related activities (administrative, sports or any other) at both national and international level."

"The adjudicatory chamber found Mr Nyantakyi guilty of having violated art. 19 (Conflicts of interest), art. 21 (Bribery and corruption) and art. 22 (Commission) of the FIFA Code of Ethics, 2012 edition. As a consequence, Mr Nyantakyi is banned for life from all football-related activities (administrative, sports or any other) at both national and international level. Additionally, a fine in the amount of CHF 500,000 (GH? 2,410,000) has been imposed on Mr Nyantakyi."

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