Premier league side Aduana Stars captain Yahaya Mohammed has confirmed to FOX FM sports desk that the club is owing the playing body monthly salaries, but debunked the tally being up to nine months.
Speaking to the nationwide sports program Focal sports on FOX FM, Yahaya Mohammed admitted that he and his team mates are struggling due to unpaid player salaries, but euphemistically jumped to the defence of club President and chief of Dormaa Ahenkro, Osagyefo Oseadeeyo Nana Agyemang Badu II, saying his upcoming 20th Anniversay celebration as chief of Dormaa has kept him hugely burdened financially.
According to the former OGC Nice striker, media reports that the players of Aduana Stars have boycotted training due to the situation are purely fabrication and a move to sensationalize the situation.
“It’s true (the club owes us salaries) as you’ve heard, I have also seen such news but it’s never true we don’t go to training”, Yahaya Mohammed confirmed to FOX FM in an interview.
Club official George Gyau who is in charge of what is known in Ghana football as Operations, has lost his wife and the funeral arrangements are ongoing since the last weekend, and the club captain insists that has affected the club’s training schedules hence the inconsistencies.
“Last week Friday was the one week commemoration for the demises of our chairman George Gyau’s wife so the players were given a training day off, so some of the players left to see their families, others went for treatments so yesterday (Tuesday) most of the senior players could not report for training, so it’s not that Aduana Stars players have boycotted training as is being reported, no, yesterday we trained”, Yahaya clarified.
While admitting that the club owes the players monthly salaries, Yahaya believes that the lack of football activities in the country; the absence of the premier league which has brought income from gate proceeds to halt is a major contributing factor to the club’s inability to pay players’ salaries, but is confident that management is on top of the situation and very soon at least, part of the arrears would be settled.
He further revealed that he will have a meeting with the playing body to explain the situation to the players and hopefully they will understand and give management few time to clear all outstanding salaries.
“For two years now we don’t football in Ghana so me as a player maybe me as Yahaya can sacrifice due to the relationship between me and Nana [Agyemang Badu II] but maybe Kojo cannot sacrifice same as Kwame (citing examples with non-Aduana players names), if all the players boycott training me as Yahaya alone cannot go to training, I will follow them, so it’s up to me [as captain] to convince them, if I convince them and it works out fine, so be it, but if I convince them and it fails too then we move it from there but I know that the players i’m working with they will understand me and anything I will put on board too they will look at it twice and give me the benefit of the doubt and give me a good answer”, he hoped.
The former Asante Kotoko star striker denied reports that the debt is up to nine months but sets the records straight, saying it’s a little over four months.
“No, no, no nine months why, no, no, no, it’s not up to nine months, it’s almost five months”, he clarified.
