Accra, Ghana, October 23, 2026: How much does Ghana pay the women who wear the national shirt? Nobody outside the Ministry of Sports and Recreation can say, and the same is true for the men.
The public record holds budgets, appearance fees, match bonuses, per diems and prize money. These are different things. A national budget is not a player's pay. A tournament prize goes to a federation, not to a squad. This explainer separates what has been published from what has not.
What the Black Stars have been given
The government made a provision of GH¢150 million in the 2026 Budget for the Black Stars' World Cup campaign. On 17 September 2026, Sports and Recreation Minister Kofi Adams told Parliament's Youth and Sports Committee that GH¢58.9 million had been released.
The Ministry said the money paid a US$100,000 appearance fee to each of the 26 registered players, plus per diems, honoraria for the technical team and remuneration for management and the delegation. Twenty-six players at US$100,000 each comes to US$2.6 million, our calculation from the Ministry's figures. The Minister said FIFA money due to Ghana had not yet arrived.
A year earlier, in September 2025, the Ministry cut the budget for two World Cup qualifiers. The Ghana Football Association (GFA) had asked for over US$2 million, and the Ministry approved about US$1.2 million. Players would receive US$5,000 per match won, and head coach Otto Addo US$10,000.
What the Black Queens have been given
The Ministry's statement of 13 August 2026 responded to reports that players were owed money at the Women's Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) in Morocco. It said advance per diems were paid on 29 July for 26 July to 7 August, and a second payment on 11 August covered 8 to 14 August after Ghana's quarter-final exit and a stay to pursue a place at the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup.
The Ministry said the team earned one bonus, for the group win over Cape Verde, and that payment was being processed. It said the current financing framework has no separate qualification bonus for the WAFCON qualifying rounds, and that the government approved no winning bonuses for the matches against Egypt. The statement did not give per diem or bonus rates, or a total budget.
The players tell a different story. The day before their play-off against Côte d'Ivoire, they demanded payment of an Egypt bonus, a WAFCON qualification bonus, group-stage bonuses and outstanding per diems, ESPN reported. The Graphic Online report on that statement links it to a row a year earlier.
In October 2025, before the second leg against Egypt, the squad boycotted training. Modern Ghana reported that each player was owed US$9,500 from the 2024 tournament. The Daily Graphic put the arrears at around US$9,000 per player and said the Ministry had promised in July to settle within two weeks. These are media figures, and the Ministry has not confirmed them.
What CAF pays
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) sets prize money for its two continental tournaments. For the men's Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2025, CAF announced US$10 million for the winner, US$4 million for the runner-up and US$2.5 million for each losing semi-finalist.
For WAFCON 2026, CAF doubled the winner's prize to US$2 million. The runner-up receives US$750,000, third place US$500,000 and the other losing semi-finalist US$400,000. The total pool rose from US$3.475 million to US$5.8 million, and each of the 16 teams receives US$150,000 in participation funding.
Graphic: CAF prize money, men's AFCON 2025 and women's WAFCON 2026. Gender Lens Africa.
The winner's prize is five times larger for the men. CAF has raised the women's prize twice in a year, from US$500,000 to US$1 million for the 2024 tournament and to US$2 million for 2026. The gap is shrinking, and it is still wide.
CAF prize money is not player pay. It goes to the national federation, and the federation and government decide how much reaches players. Who receives the US$150,000 participation payment for Ghana, and how it is shared, is a fair question for the GFA.
What is on the record and what is missing
Graphic: documented payments and unpublished figures for Ghana's two senior teams. Gender Lens Africa.
Put the figures side by side and the problem is plain. The Black Stars have a published budget ceiling, an amount released and a per-player appearance fee. The Black Queens have payment dates and a bonus that is being processed. Neither team has a published budget broken down by item, and the two cannot be compared.
Corporate money adds another layer. The Ghanaian Times reported in October 2025 that MTN's US$2 million sponsorship supports all four national teams. How that sponsorship is divided is not public.
What a fair comparison needs
• The approved budget for each team's campaign, and the amount actually spent, by item.
• Appearance fees and match bonuses for each squad, with the conditions attached.
• Per diem rates for players and staff.
• Payments to coaches and management, listed separately from players.
• Outstanding payments, and the dates on which they were settled.
• How CAF and FIFA money, and sponsor money, reaches each team.
The Black Stars and Black Queens do not need identical budgets. The Black Stars qualified for a World Cup, and costs differ by tournament. Public money still needs a public account. Publishing one table, with the same categories for both teams, would end most of the argument.
Sources and further reading
ChannelOne News: GH¢58.9 million released for Black Stars' World Cup preparations, 17 September 2026.
Ghana News Agency: Sports Ministry denies owing Black Queens per diems, 13 August 2026.
Ghana News Agency: Sports Ministry cuts the Black Stars budget, 3 September 2025.
ESPN: Black Queens demand outstanding bonuses before World Cup play-off.
Graphic Online: another unpaid bonus demand and Graphic Online: bonus row casts shadow over Queens' WAFCON campaign.
Modern Ghana: Minister denies telling Black Queens to boycott.
CAF: AFCON 2025 prize money announcement.
Le360: CAF doubles Women's AFCON winner's prize to US$2 million; Morocco World News on the US$5.8 million pool; Ripples Nigeria on participation funding.
Ghanaian Times: Black Queens set to finish off Egypt despite bonus row.
