The Nations Sports Authority cannot account for 8,000 tickets for March’s World Cup qualifier.

A staggering 8000 tickets purportedly issued to supporters in Ghana’s 4-0 win over Sudan in the 2014 World Cup qualifier cannot be accounted for, according to a Graphic Sports report.

Auditors have been unable to trace the use of the ”missing” tickets which translates into an amount of GH¢40,000 (a littlte over US$ 20,000) with a unit price of GH¢5.00 two months after the memorable Black Stars win.

The National Sports Authority have explained the ‘missing’ tickets were issued to the various supporter groups for the game played at the Baba Yara Stadium in Kumasi.

The Supporters according to information from the NSA, the supporters were given tickets to the ‘Green Zone’ of the stadium to offer the needed support for the Ghana team for the vital win over Sudan.

But one of such groups; Die Hard Supporters Union insists they did not receive tickets for the game but were rather allowed free entry into the stadium.

”We were not given tickets, but rather Die Hard Supporters, numbering over 200, were allowed to enter the stadium free by the National Sports Authority,” the Union’s President Abraham Nkansah told Graphic Sports.

The situation now leaves the National Sports Authority; managers of the four Ghanaian stadia in debt to the tune of a little over US$ 20,000 for that single Black Stars game.

The new development comes off the heels of confirmed reports of financial mismanagement on the part of the National Sports Council during the 2011 All African Games.

Black Stars

Uganda are claiming that they are on the verge of sealing a friendly against Ghana early next month but the Black Stars insist they are yet to receive a proposal from the Cranes.

The Cranes say they are courting Ghana for an international friendly before their next 2014 World Cup qualifier against Liberia on June 8 in Kampala.

This comes after Ghana withdrew from a friendly against Kenya scheduled for Nairobi on 1 June.

This prompted Uganda to report that they are on the verge of sealing a friendly with Ghana around the same date as the Black Stars cancelled friendly with Kenya.

However the Ghana FA insists they are yet to receive a proposal from Uganda for a friendly.

Fufa head of communications Rogers Mulindwa confirmed that they are in talks with the Ghana FA and the deal is almost through.

“The true position is that Ghana is among the countries we are considering,” Mulindwa told Goal.com

“We have not reached a conclusion yet, but Ghana is our key target.”

“The two FAs were to meet in Cairo to finalise things and I’m yet to be briefed by my FA president. However, we are closer to playing Ghana than Libya,” he added.

Despite this claim by by Uganda Ghana FA say they are yet to receive a formal offer from Uganda.

“We have seen these reports in the Ugandan press but we are yet to receive a formal offer from Uganda,” Ghana FA’s Director of Communications Ibrahim Sannie told Happy FM.

The Cranes are bottom of Group J on two points from three games, three points behind leaders Senegal.

Liberia, who beat Uganda 2-0 on March 24, are second on four points while Angola is third with three points.

The Cranes badly need to win the game against Liberia to revive their hopes of advancing to the final qualifying round.

Ghana have pulled out of the friendly against Kenya

The Ghana FA has given various reason for its decision to suddenly pull out of the friendly against Kenya insisting they want to play the Harambee Stars in future.

The Black Stars have told  the decision by Sudan to bring forward their match against Ghana as well as the arrival of their players for the game in Nairobi on 1 June led to the decision to call off the game.

The Kenya Football Federation (KFK) has revealed a letter written by Ghana Football Association (GFA) Protocol Officer Alex Asante on Tuesday informing them of the impossibility of honouring the friendly.

The letter gave various reasons for the cancellation of the match, among them the inability to assemble their top stars on time and a change in the dates for their World Cup qualifier against Sudan, which forced them to change plans.

“We regret to inform you that the Ghana Football Association cannot honour the match,” Asante wrote in the letter to the Kenya Football Federation.

“The reasons for the cancellation are that the date for our qualifying match with Sudan has been shifted from the 9th to the 7th of June 2013 thereby forcing us to adopt new plans.”

“Secondly, there have been several changes in the arrival dates of our players who are based in Europe. Most of them will be arriving in Accra between the 28th and the 30th of May thus making it impossible to gather them for the match.

“The Ghana Football Association apologizes for this inconvenience and wishes that the match will be rescheduled for a future date,” said the letter from the Ghanaian association.

Reacting to the cancellation, FKF Executive Committee member, Hussein Terry, said they have lined-up either Burundi or Rwanda to play Stars on June 1.

Emmanuel Agyemang Badu

Lesotho will host the Black Stars in next month’s 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifier in Maseru, GNA Sports has reported.

This is contrary to reports that the Group D day five clash will be played in South Africa.

Information gathered by GNA Sports indicates that the Lesotho Football Association (LFA) has officially informed the Ghana Football Association of the decision to host the game at the 20,000-capacity Setsoto Stadium on Sunday, June 16.

“The Crocodiles, as the Lesotho national team is affectionately known, will take on Zambia in Ndola on June 8 and host Ghana at Setsoto Stadium on June 16,” said a statement from the LFA.

The Stars won the reverse fixture at the Baba Yara Stadium 7-0 last September.

During the qualifiers for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Lesotho hosted the Stars in Bloemfontein, South Africa which the Ghanaians narrowly won 3-2.