Football is for young people; players above 30 become politicians’ – Kwesi Nyantakyi

Bashiru Karim 3 years ago 2 min read

Former Ghana Football Association (GFA) President, Kwesi Nyantakyi, believes players who are above the age of 30 tend to be a disruptive presence.

‘Football is for young people; players above 30 become politicians’ – Kwesi Nyantakyi

In his view, veteran players offer very little to their teams and rather become politicians who agitate over the least issue.

Nyantakyi said this when he appeared on GTV Sports+ to discuss the current state of football in Ghana and the way forward.

Together with other former GFA heads, the panel touched on a number of issues, including interference and how to revive the national teams.

Sharing his opinion, Nyantakyi said players above the age of 30 become politicians in their teams, adding that football is for young players.

“Football is for young players and I had this policy at Wa All-Stars,” he said on the programme, which was hosted by veteran journalist, Karl Tufuoh.

“I always said that any player over 30-years is no longer a footballer but a politician. He is coming to destroy your team for you, they will come agitations and all kinds of things.”

Meanwhile, Nyantakyi remains banned from all football-related activities by the Federation of International Football Association (FIFA).

In 2018, he was captured in Anas Aremeyaw Anas’ ‘Number 12’ exposé, allegedly taking cash gifts and peddling influence.This led to him resigning as GFA President, as well as losing his positions as FIFA Council Member and 1st Vice President of CAF.

Nyantakyi was subsequently handed a lifetime ban and fined 500,000 Swiss Francs by FIFA in the aftermath of the exposé.

He was also charged with conspiracy to commit fraud, fraud and corruption by a public officer, although he was later granted bail with some sureties.