- Sports Ministry Rejects Black Queens Per Diem Claims, Produces US$50,000 Payment Records
Ghana’s Ministry of Sports and Recreation has rejected claims that the government owes the Black Queens outstanding per diems, releasing signed payment records indicating that 25 players received a combined US$50,000 covering their stay in Morocco from July 26 to August 14, 2026.
The Ministry’s intervention directly challenges parts of a statement issued by players of the senior women’s national team, who had raised concerns over outstanding per diems, group-stage bonuses, WAFCON qualification bonuses, payments connected to Egypt and broader welfare support.
In a statement dated August 12, the Ministry said the government respected the players’ right to raise concerns but argued that the public record needed to distinguish between amounts that had been approved and paid, bonuses still undergoing processing and payments that government says were never approved as entitlements.
“For the avoidance of doubt, Government does not owe the Black Queens any outstanding per diem,” the Ministry said.
Documents accompanying the statement provide the clearest evidence supporting that position.
One Ghana Football Association allowance sheet dated July 29 shows players receiving US$1,300 each for the period from July 26 to August 7. The list covers 25 players when the continuation page containing Princess Marfo is included, implying total player payments of US$32,500 for that period.
A separate Ministry of Sports and Recreation claim sheet covering August 8 to August 14 records US$700 for each of 25 players, amounting to another US$17,500.
Together, the two documents indicate per diem payments of US$2,000 per player, or US$50,000 for the 25 players, across the 20-day period.
The structure of the payments also points to a daily allowance of US$100: US$1,300 for the first 13-day period and US$700 for the subsequent seven days.
According to the Ministry, the initial payment was made in advance on July 29 to cover the group stage and the relevant period immediately afterwards. A second payment was subsequently made on August 11 after the team’s quarter-final exit required the players to remain in Morocco for the FIFA Women’s World Cup qualification play-in pathway.
“Accordingly, as of 12 August 2026, Government has no outstanding per diem obligation to the Black Queens,” the Ministry said.
The dispute is less straightforward when it comes to winning bonuses. The Ministry confirmed that the Black Queens earned one group-stage winning bonus following their victory over Cape Verde but said the money was still going through the required government payment process.
It explained that winning bonuses are treated differently from per diems because they are paid directly into the bank accounts of players and eligible officials following documentation, statutory deductions and other public financial procedures.
“The winning bonus earned from the victory over Cape Verde is therefore being processed in accordance with the established procedure,” the statement said.
That effectively means the Ministry acknowledges an earned payment that had not yet completed the disbursement process at the time of its statement, even while rejecting the assertion that per diems remain outstanding.
The sharper disagreement concerns WAFCON qualification bonuses. Players had listed a “WAFCON qualification bonus” and an “Egypt 2025 bonus” among their outstanding financial concerns.
But the Ministry said Ghana’s current sports financing framework does not provide a separate bonus simply for qualifying for WAFCON through the home-and-away qualification process. It said government instead covers approved expenses associated with such matches, including per diems and other operational costs.
The Ministry was even more categorical regarding the qualification matches against Egypt.
“There was no Government approval for the payment of winning bonuses for the WAFCON qualifying matches against Egypt and this position was communicated to the Ghana Football Association,” it said.
“It is therefore inaccurate to characterise a payment which was neither approved nor established as an entitlement as an outstanding Government obligation.”
The conflicting positions expose a deeper issue beyond whether individual payments have been made: what exactly were players promised, by whom, and under what approved financial framework?
If the government never authorised an Egypt qualification bonus, the Ministry’s argument is that an unpaid expectation cannot automatically become a state debt. But if players were given assurances by football authorities or team officials, the controversy raises questions over communication between government, the Ghana Football Association and the playing body.
The welfare dispute is similarly contested. Players had asked for better management support and stronger mental-health and well-being arrangements, saying that apart from one early training visit involving senior government officials they had relied heavily on teammates and technical staff.
The Ministry responded that the Black Queens currently have a support structure comprising a Team Manager, Team Administrator, two physiotherapists, a medical doctor, nurse, dietician, chef, two management team members and additional technical officials.
It said legitimate additional welfare requirements brought through team management were addressed, while a Ministry accountant attached to the team facilitated approved payments arising outside normal operational arrangements.
The documents therefore narrow some aspects of the dispute but do not necessarily end it.
On per diems, government has produced signed records indicating payments covering July 26 to August 14. On the Cape Verde victory, it acknowledges that a winning bonus was earned but says payment is being processed. On qualification bonuses, however, the two sides appear to have fundamentally different understandings of what constituted an entitlement.
That makes transparency over the approved tournament budget and agreed player compensation structure increasingly important.
The controversy also arrives at a sensitive sporting moment, with the Black Queens preparing for a FIFA Women’s World Cup qualification play-in against Côte d’Ivoire as they pursue a place at Brazil 2027.
The Ministry has urged that financial and welfare concerns be addressed accurately and through institutional channels while maintaining that government remains “firmly behind the Black Queens”.
But the episode demonstrates why national-team compensation arrangements need to be established clearly before competitions begin.
Signed payment sheets can establish whether money has changed hands. They cannot, on their own, settle disputes over what players believed they had been promised.
For the Black Queens, government and the GFA, resolving that difference may now be just as important as determining what remains unpaid.
