Ghana spent about $3 million during the AFCON 2023 tournament, despite the Black Stars’ early exit, according to the Minister of Youth and Sports, Mustapha Ussif.
On Wednesday, Ussif told parliament that the tournament’s initial budget was $8.5 million, with $5 million released by the Finance Ministry to cover expenses like per diems, flights, medicals, equipment, logistics, and hospitality.
However, with the team failing to advance beyond the group stage, a surplus of $2 million remained unutilized.
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Our estimated budget for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations tournament was $8,506,450.00 to cater for the team’s pre-tournament and the tournament phases (group stages, 1/16 stage, quarter-final, semi-final, and final),” he stated.
He explained that from the total $8,506,450.00, the Ministry of Finance released $5,071,840.36, of which US$3,070,067.81 went toward per diems, team flights, medicals, equipment, logistics, and hospitality. After the tournament, this left a surplus of $2,001,772.55.
An amount of US$400,000.00 was received from MTN Ghana. This contributed immensely in complementing the Government’s expenditure towards the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations tournament,” he added.
Responding to rumours regarding the Black Stars players receiving $30,000 each before the final Group B game against Mozambique, Ussif clarified that no such payments were made, as the team did not qualify for the next round.
He explained that this strategy was implemented to motivate the team to perform well and advance through the tournament, while also prudently managing the nation’s resources.
The Black Stars had a rough run in Ivory Coast, failing to pick up a single win. They lost 2-1 to Cape Verde and settled for 2-2 draws against both Egypt and Mozambique, ending up third in the group with just two points.
Last Updated on March 21, 2026 by Samuel Kwame Boadu
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