Former Dawu Youngster Chairman, Seth Yeboah, has revealed that during his time as chairman, he was involved in fixed matches but his team played it competitively unlike recent fixed matches in the Ghana Premier League.
Seth, who is now a Chief in Dawu and goes by the name Nana Tufuhene Yeboah I, revealed that struggling teams in the league negotiate to settle the opposing team’s winning bonus in exchange for a win.
In an interview with Ernest Brew Show, Tufuhene Yeboah detailed how teams negotiate to play matches of convenience in the 90s and the early 2000s.
“I went to people(seeking help) and others also came to me. Maybe, you need it because if you lose this match, your team will be relegated. So, when you negotiate and both agree, you will be helped. For instance, if my players lose a match and it was not their fault, they will take the winning bonus. So, you will pay the winning bonus for them. So I will tell the captain that there is an agreement with this team, and they will pay your winning bonus,” he said.
When asked whether he believes there is a football administrator who has never engaged in match-fixing, Tufuhene answered that none exits.
“Those of us who are into football, we know what’s going and we are not surprised. Then he is a lair, all football administrators are one. With the cost in football, when you imagine the struggles you will go through in the first division (second tier), and if you are not lucky you will be relegated to the second division(third tier). So if I can negotiate and pay your players’ winning bonus for you to help me not to get relegated, I think it is normal.”
He concluded that because there were rules prohibiting match-fixing, fixed matches were played competitively, as appeared differently in relation to Ashantigold-Inter Allies’ in the 2020/2021 season.
“Even in those days, when you are caught, you will be punished. It’s not only today. You cannot make it obvious. It is there but you cannot fix a match and play like Goldfield(Ashanti Gold) did. You will play it competitively even the referee won’t notice.”
On May 16, 2022, the GFA Disciplinary Committee found AshantiGold and now Division One side Inter Allies guilty of playing a match of convenience in 2021.
As a result, both teams have been relegated to the country’s third-tier league. In the said match, AshantiGold won 7-0 with Inter Allies scoring two deliberate own goals.
Dawu Youngster FC was founded in 1987. The Club enjoyed nine seasons of top-flight football from 1990/91 to 2001/02.
In their last GPL season, they finished 15th in a 16-team league with 30 points in 2002, winning 7, losing 14, and drawing 9.
Source: Ghanaweb