CK Akonnor denies receiving $100,000 from Ministry of Youth and Sports after 2021 contract termination.
The former Hearts of Oak and Asante Kotoko gaffer, who signed a two-year deal in January 2020, was dismissed in September 2021 following a defeat against South Africa in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers.
During a press brief last Wednesday, the Sports Minister, Mustapha Ussif, despite admitting the country still owes C.K. Akonnor and Milovan Rajevac, claimed both were paid $100,000 each following the Ghana Football Association’s (GFA) decision to relieve them of their duties.
“We still owe Milovan [Rajevac],” he said at a press briefing.
“All of C.K. and Milovan, once their contract was terminated, we sat with them and negotiated their exit, and C.K. was paid $100,000 immediately after the negotiation, same as Milovan.”
However, Akonnor, in an interview with Graphic Sports, dismissed the statement of the Sports Minister, claiming the exact amount he received was not what was mentioned by the minister.
“I never received the kind of money the minister mentioned. I don’t want to put out how much they paid me, but it was not $100,000, as the minister said,” Akonnor said.
Akonnor stated that after he was sacked, he was paid in cedis and told to convert it to dollars using the Bank of Ghana rate. However, while the rate was significantly lower than the market rate at the time, it was nowhere near the amount mentioned by the minister.
The 47-year-old also requested the minister review the contract he had with the GFA, which was still on file at the FA. He urged the minister to review the contract to find out how they arrived at that amount.
“My contract is still with the FA, and if he likes, he can go and check the agreement we had and see before making the claim, and he will know that he is wrong,” Akonnor stated.
CK Akonnor played 10 games, winning four, losing four, and drawing two. Following his dismissal, Akonnor was replaced by Milovan Rajevac, but the Serbian was also sacked following a poor performance at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Cameroon.
