Black Stars coach James Kwesi Appiah has promised to devote part of his salary as Ghana coach to help ex-footballers who are going through some form of financial distress.
This was made known by Kwesi Appiah at the inauguration of his foundation, held at the Accra City Hotel.
[ads1]Speaking at the brief ceremony, Kwesi Appiah reiterated his desire to give back to the sports that has brought him fame and fortune in the last few years.
He said: “The objective of the foundation is to assist retired players and former national athletes in different ways. I have, for this reason, dedicated a percentage of my salary in that regard. Today’s inauguration of my board of trustees, the foundation begins a journey that I hope will change many lives.”
Present at the inauguration was the Deputy Youth and Sports Minister, Pius Hadzide. He congratulated Appiah for the initiative.
“We are delighted by the sense of patriotism that has been exhibited by the head coach of the senior national team; we are just being told that he has dedicated a percentage of his monthly salary towards a good cause, thus the upliftment of retired footballers.
“This vision of the coach coincides with the vision of the government to support retired sportsmen. We understand that facing retirement from the sporting career can be tough, but knowing what to expect can make it easy.
“Critical to the losses that retired footballers face is money because they don’t make enough money after retirement, which could lead to depression. So as a Sports Ministry, we have started work towards the establishment of National Sports Fund, part of which will be dedicated to maintenance of retired footballers,” Hadzide noted.
Meanwhile, a five-member team has been unveiled as trustees for the fund. They are:
Samuel Nana Brew-Butler (Chairman)
H.E. Amarkai Amarkai Amartefio (Member)
Air Vice Marshall Issifu S. Kadri (Member)
Mr Emmanuel Adu Sarkodie (Member)
Kwasi Appiah (Patron)
