For featuring in the Mundial alone, Ghana amassed $1million and the Ghana Football Association (GFA) raked in an extra $14 million for qualifying for the quarter-finals.The players had received $70,000 for participating in the tournament, in addition to generous winning bonuses for each of the 23 players.
Federation of International Football Association (FIFA) gave $14 million to each of the national teams that reached the quarter-final stage of the soccer fiesta.
Ghana was the only African country that qualified from the group stage to the second round stage at the ongoing World Cup, making the African continent proud in the process.After qualifying from Group D alongside Germany, Ghana brushed aside the USA in the 1/16 stage via Asamoah Gyan’s late bullet strike in extra time to book a place in the last eight.
The Black Stars however crushed within eyesight of a semi-final, losing 2-4 on a penalty shoot-out to Uruguay in a dramatic quarter-final clash.
The $15 million aside, the Black Stars, who made Africa proud at the competition, are expected to make more money from television rights just to mention a few.Ghana’s dream of making history by becoming the first African country to reach the semi-final stage of the World Cup got truncated painfully in a dramatic quarter-final game with Uruguay on Friday.
The contest between Ghana and Uruguay was decided on penalties after extra time had failed to produce a winner. Asamoah Gyan failed to convert a penalty on the stroke of extra time before Ghana bowed out by 4-2 on penalties.
The Black Stars missed a golden opportunity to make more money with the loss to Uruguay, as they could have taken home the minimum of $18million and a maximum of $30 million for winners.FIFA would dish out a staggering $30 million to the eventual winner of the competition, with the second, third and fourth placed teams taking home $24 million, $20 millions and $18 million respectively.
Despite bowing out of the competition at the quarter-final stage, Ghana could still pride itself of equaling the record of Cameroon (1990) and Senegal (2002) which reached that stage.
Ghana thus became the third African country to reach the quarter-final stage of the Mundial.The Black stars are expected home today after an impressive showing which gingered the whole African continent into supporting them.It is expected that thousands of football fans will welcome the team home at the Kotoka International Airport in Accra.
Ghana has received reviews all over the world after becoming the only African contender in the tournament after the group stage.
President J.E.A Mills has commended the Black Stars for lifting high the flag of Ghana at the tournament.
He observed that although the stars had done their best, in football, as in any other game, one team certainly had to lose to the other.President Mills gave the commendation during an interaction with journalists at the Kotoka International Airport, when he returned from Cape Verde, where he had attended the 38th Ordinary Session of Economic Community Of West African States heads of state.
He said the loss of the Black Stars in their last match did not in the least erase the fact that they had given off their best, not only to the admiration of Ghanaians but the entire African continent.
President Mills said the great performance of the Black Stars showed that the future held great promise for them, and urged Ghanaians to honour the Stars and welcome them appropriately, saying, "the least we can do is to appreciate them".
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