Boateng slams Ghana FA

Kevin-Prince Boateng has labelled the Ghana Football Association “amateurish” following his indefinite suspension from the national team.

Boateng and team-mate Sulley Muntari were banished from the Ghana squad on the eve of their final Group G fixture against Portugal at the FIFA World Cup last week for alleged indiscipline.

Schalke midfielder Boateng, who retired from international football in 2011 only to return two years later, was sent home for “vulgar verbal insults targeted at coach Kwesi Appiah” during a training session.

While Muntari was banned after an “unprovoked attack on an executive committee member of the GFA and a management member of the Black Stars”.

Boateng has since lifted the lid on Ghana’s torrid World Cup campaign that saw the country exit at the group stage following a 2-1 loss to Portugal.

Speaking to German newspaper Bild, Boateng took aim at the Ghana FA, broken promises and the team’s preparations.

“Everything – the hotels, the flights – everything was amateurish,” the 27-year-old said.

“The GFA president visited me in Milan begging me to play for Ghana again. He gave me his word that we would have better travel, better organisation and preparation. He has not kept his word. In the end I was just still dissatisfied.

“It was a nightmare from the first day of the preparation to the end.”

Boateng added: “We flew to the first training camp from Amsterdam to Miami. However, we travelled in two groups, since there was no space.

“One group flew through Atlanta, the other New York. We sat for around nine hours at the airport – a total of 19 hours on the road.

“The flight from Miami to Brazil a week later took 12 hours and we sat and concentrated in economy class. The legs ached.

“It sounds strange for an average citizen, but for a competitive athlete that is a disgrace. The Ghana FA president sat in business class with his wife and two children. And then in Brazil, we finally had a charter flight but my luggage was lost. Two days without football boots – it was a disaster.”

Ghana’s time in Brazil was also blighted by a bonus dispute that required the intervention of the country’s president John Dramani Mahama in order to be resolved.

“That was the smallest problem,” he said. “Everything had accumulated over a month. It was pure disaster. Poor training conditions and sleep options, I just wonder where all the money was flowing to.

“The association get so much money from sponsors and FIFA – it was certainly not used for hotels, flights, the team and the preparation.”