Agentgate

For all who have been wondering who the ultimate scapegoat for Ghana’s ignoble CAN performance will be (the Grandmaster, Michael Essien, the jackals of the Nigeria press all come to mind), all questions have been answered. And you might be surprised about the mantle upon which the blame has been laid.

Among the Ghana press and throughout Accra, spreading even unto the countryside, resentment has been building up against the malicious and unpatriotic actions of multinational player agents, oozing parasites who look only to their own profitability, as measured through the continued potential of the hosts from whom they suck nourishment.

CAN, given its visibility to the world press and to the international football community, has become somewhat of a meat market for local footballers on the rise. Young cats, like Ghana’s Prince Tagoe, who’ve been making moves on the national league level will get an opportunity for notice and will attract offers, generally through the lubrication of insidious middlemen. This can, at times detract from the football.

As noted in a respectable Ghana editorial: “Sources close to the team at their Port Said camp where they were accomodated during their group matches said distractions from player agents who constantly harrassed the players and the speed with which players were urged to sign deals could have affected their concentration during the match.” Stefano, an Italian correspondent and man-on-the-scene, noted “The player agents, especially Nigerians, flooded the Stars’ Port Said hotel, most of them held promises of getting lucrative deals for the players and that might have affected the psyche of the players.” Oh Charlie, who but could have suspected the Nigerians again making inroads on the Black Stars CAN hopes.

What’s worse, now comes word that the Grandmaster, head technician Ratomir “Doya” Dujkovic, has ties to player agents and may in fact perform some such services himself. In the matter of Issa Ahmed, who successfully negotiated a deal on the eve of the CAN, it is said by local wags that Doya represented club interests that were not able to get to Port Said prior to the signing deadline, a claim supported by a now infamous text message sent from the Grandmaster to club officials.

Clearly, such economic interests in certain players is both unethical and counterproductive to the success of the Stars. This alone would give the boot to the Grandmaster, for whom the ice has looked rather thin since the Zimbabwe affair. Understandably, Doya has denied or explained away involvement, ” I’m not a player agent or manager, I don’t have licence from FIFA to operate as such, so I don’t understand what people are saying. What I do is to recommend this or that player to a foreign club if he is good, but I have no direct involvement in the management and sale of players.”

Nevertheless, the questions remain. And the issue is only beginning to heat up. Doya- come clean, the loyal fans are begging.