African national team and bribery scandal
Bribery and corruption as eaten into the system of our foatball system in Africa and this as cost the continent alot when they represent in the World competition.
The issue of bribery is common in the footballing system of African and this has eaten deep into the system to the extent that it is killing it.
I wonder why this keep happening in the national team where players put in all their effort to represent the country but end up getting disappointed.
Most of these players who have the expected talent get sidelined just because they do not have money to bribe their way into the team.
This is common in the African system and we have brought to you some of the countries that are found wanting for bribery scandals.
- Nigeria ( Super Eagles, Golden Eaglet etc): If you are a Nigerian this will obvious to you as this is common among the top officials in the team. There are have been stories heard from young stars that have been sidelined just because they don’t have money to pay their way into the team. According to an Article on Guardian this revealed what former Super Eagles player Taye Taiwo said followers of Nigerian football have long suspected when he said national team coaches collect bribe from players to include them in their teams. Taiwo said: “I’m not going to be among the players, who owe their selection to gifts to the coach. In Nigeria, it still happens that way, unfortunately.” In an interview published by SuperSport.com then, Westerhof said those players who did not merit a place in the national team got call-ups after giving money to the selectors. “We had a situation where we had the wrong people in the wrong places, even in the (Nigeria) FA”.
- Cameroon national team: Nigeria is not the only African team that is on this case. Cameroon is reportedly into collecting bribe from players before they represent the country. A famous star who played the just concluded World Cup Kylian Mbappe would have been playing in the Cameroonian jersey but due to corruption he had to switch allegiance to France. Mbappe was born in France but has a Cameroonian father, the PSG star’s father wanted his son to play for his country but the manager asked for money before he would allow that.
- Ghana national team: The Ghanian national team is also on the list after several report came out that the players bribed their way into the team. An article surfaced online in 2016 ex Asante Kotoko striker Kwadwo Poku revealed in an interview that players bribe their way into the national team.