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Kwesi Nyantakyi

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Kwesi Nyantakyi
Kwesi Nyantakyi in 2014
President of the Ghana Football Association
In office
2005–2018
Preceded byDr. Nyaho Nyaho-Tamakloe
Succeeded byKurt Okraku
Personal details
BornGhana
OccupationBanker
Lawyer
Football administrator

Kwesi Nyantakyi is a Ghanaian banker, lawyer and former football administrator.[1] He was the president of the Ghana Football Association (GFA) from 30 December 2005 until 7 June 2018. Nyantakyi officially resigned a day later.[2] However, four hours to the release of his resignation letter FIFA had issued a statement announcing his ban from all football related activities for a period of 90 days pending investigations.[3] Circumstances surrounding his resignation include a video released by investigative journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas in which Nyantakyi was found taking a bribe and purporting to have the ability to "take over the whole country".[4] In an interview with Super Sports South Africa a few days after the video of the investigation was slated to go public, Nyantakyi denied any wrongdoing regarding match fixing.[5] On 30 October 2018 FIFA officially issued a statement that officially bans Kwesi Nantakyi from football related activities for life. In October 2020, the ban was reduced to 15 years after a reconsideration by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.[6][7][8]

Early life

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Born to a Waa mother, and an Akan father from Kwaso in the Ashanti Region, Nyantakyi grew up in Wa where he had his early education.[9]

Personal life

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A practicing Muslim, Nyantakyi was born Christian but converted to Islam from the age of 47, after his mother remarried a Muslim man years back in the seventies.[10] Nyantakyi has a wife, Christine-Marie Nyantakyi.[11] He has two children with his wife Christine.[12]

Football administration

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President of GFA

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Nyantakyi became the president of the Ghana Football Association (GFA) on 30 December 2005. Nyantakyi defeated two other candidates, Ade Coker and Kojo Bonsu.[13] Under his presidency, Ghana qualified for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, the first for the country. Ghana again qualified for the subsequent 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa and the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. The Ghana U-20 football team also won Africa's first and only U-20 World Cup also during his stewardship in 2009.[13] He has currently resigned from this position.[14]

President of WAFU

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In 2011, when West African Football Union (WAFU) president, Amos Adamu, was suspended by FIFA, Kwesi Nyantakyi was given the nod to be the interim president of WAFU until elections were conducted.[15] When the union conducted its elections on 31 May 2011, Mr. Nyantakyi was elected president for a two-year term.[16][17] He stood unopposed in the November 2013 elections and was re-appointed for another two-year term as president.[18] Nyantakyi resigned as WAFU president on the 11th of June 2018.[14]

International football appointments

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Nyantakyi has held several international positions in football. His appointments cut across sub regional, regional and international levels including:

Awards

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Nyantakyi has endeared himself very much to most Ghanaians due to several achievements as a football administrator. In 2012, he was named the thirty-second most influential Ghanaian.[24]

Controversies

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An undercover investigation led by The Telegraph and Channel 4 accused Nyantakyi and other officials of the Ghana Football Association of match-fixing.

According to this investigation, the accusations 'involved just international friendlies; World Cup matches would not be affected by the suspicions'[25] Nyantakyi denied the match fixing allegations by saying that "the report of the newspaper or the media house is entirely not accurate" because "there is really no cause for alarm as far as I am concerned because nothing untoward has happened involving me or the Federation."[26]

In May 2018, the President of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo ordered the arrest of Nyantakyi following an exposé by Ghanaian investigative journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas in which Nyantakyi was apparently engaged in some fraudulent activity using the name of the President. Deputy Chief of Staff, Samuel Abu Jinapor in an interview with Dan Kweku Yeboah on Peace FM confirmed the president's order for Nyantakyi's arrest, indicating that the GFA President engaged in influence peddling using the name of the president. "The footage indicated that Kwesi Nyantakyi used the name of the President to defraud some people; constituting defrauding by false pretenses..." Jinapor indicated.

According to Jinapor, after the President finished watching the video he could not help but direct the Criminal Investigative Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service to issue an arrest warrant for Kwesi Nyantakyi." He ordered the CID to arrest him to assist in investigations and then the next step will be taken. The president is the custodian of the law and he’s not biased. No matter who you are, once you are wrong, he will hand you over to the law. He has demonstrated that his determination to fight corruption and crime is unquestionable" Jinapor noted. He was asked if the President was on the right course since the GFA is deemed autonomous. In response he said: "GFA is not an island when it comes to the criminal laws of Ghana and so an action can be taken and that is what has been done. Nobody will be allowed to go scot free if found guilty."

The allegations and controversies also led to Nyantakyi's resignation on June 8, 2018, as the president of the Ghana Football Association.[27][28] The unfortunate incident was reported after an executive committee meeting of the Ghana Football Association.[29] The resignation is believed to have resulted from a provisional ban placed on Nyantakyi for a period of 90 days by the chairperson of the adjudicatory chamber of the Ethics Committee of FIFA.[30][31] The ban is expected to restrict Nyantakyi's involvement in any football activities at both national and international levels.[32]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "I nearly gave up- Nyantakyi". modernghana.com. Archived from the original on 25 February 2014. Retrieved 4 February 2014.
  2. ^ "Nyantakyi resigns as GFA boss". myjoyonline.com. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
  3. ^ "Fifa bans Nyantakyi over Anas video". myjoyonline.com. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
  4. ^ "TV3 Ghana". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 11 June 2018.
  5. ^ Celebrities Buzz TV (7 June 2018), Kwesi Nyantakyi also exposed Anas Aremeyews as he finally speaks (video), retrieved 11 June 2018
  6. ^ "Kwesi Nyantakyi: Fifa issues life ban for Ghana football boss". BBC Sport. 30 October 2018. Archived from the original on 31 October 2018. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
  7. ^ Graphic.com.gh. "FIFA bans Kwesi Nyantakyi for life". Graphic Online. Archived from the original on 31 October 2018. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
  8. ^ "CAS reduce Kwesi Nyantakyi's life ban to 15 years". Graphic Online. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
  9. ^ "GFA boss Kwesi Nyantakyi enskined chief in Wa". Manasseh Azure Awuni. 22 August 2015. Archived from the original on 17 June 2018. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
  10. ^ Obour, Samuel. "How I became a Muslim - GFA Boss Kwasi Nyantakyi". Yen.com.gh - Ghana news. Archived from the original on 17 June 2018. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
  11. ^ "Photos of Kwesi Nyantakyi's wife and children pop-up on the internet". www.ghanaweb.com. Archived from the original on 17 June 2018. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
  12. ^ Lamptey, Edwin. "Meet Kwesi Nyantakyi's new bride and second wife, Mariama (Photos)". Yen.com.gh - Ghana news. Archived from the original on 17 June 2018. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
  13. ^ a b "Kwesi Nyantakyi marks eight years as Ghana FA boss today". modernghana.com. Archived from the original on 17 February 2017. Retrieved 5 February 2014.
  14. ^ a b "Nyantakyi resigns from Fifa, CAF, and WAFU positions". Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 11 June 2018.
  15. ^ "Ghana FA boss Kwesi Nyantakyi elected WAFU president". goal.com. Archived from the original on 1 May 2014. Retrieved 5 February 2014.
  16. ^ "Nyantakyi retains WAFU presidency". allsports.com.gh. Archived from the original on 19 February 2014. Retrieved 5 February 2014.
  17. ^ "Nyantakyi re-elected WAFU boss". graphic.com.gh. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 5 February 2014.
  18. ^ "Kwesi Nyantakyi begins second term as WAFU boss". viasat1.com.gh. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 5 February 2014.
  19. ^ "Nyantakyi re-elected WAFU "B" head" (in French). Retrieved 31 October 2018.
  20. ^ "Fifa appoints GFA president Kwesi Nyantakyi London 2012 Olympics match commissioner". goal.com. Archived from the original on 1 May 2014. Retrieved 4 February 2014.
  21. ^ "Ghana FA president Kwesi Nyantakyi gets fresh FIFA post, named on Associations Committee". ghanasoccernet.com. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 4 February 2014.
  22. ^ "Caf's Nyantakyi and Camara elected to Fifa council". BBC. 29 September 2016. Archived from the original on 19 October 2016. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
  23. ^ "Kwesi Nyantakyi confirmed as CAF Vice President". ghanafa.org. Archived from the original on 11 May 2017. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
  24. ^ "Ghana's 100 Most Influential personalities in 2012 finally revealed". etvghana.com. Archived from the original on 21 February 2014. Retrieved 4 February 2014.
  25. ^ "Football match-fixing: Ghana deal casts cloud over World Cup finals in Brazil". The Telegraph. 22 June 2014. Archived from the original on 23 June 2014. Retrieved 22 June 2014.
  26. ^ "Nyantakyi denies agreeing match fixing contract". Ghana Football Federation. Archived from the original on 25 June 2014. Retrieved 23 June 2014.
  27. ^ Gadugah, Nathan. "Official: GFA President Kwesi Nyantakyi resigns". Joy News. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 8 June 2018.
  28. ^ "Breaking Kwesi Nyantakyi resigns from Ghana Football Association | Goal.com". Archived from the original on 11 June 2018. Retrieved 8 June 2018.
  29. ^ Zurek, Kweku. "Official: GFA President Kwesi Nyantakyi resigns". Graphic Online. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 8 June 2018.
  30. ^ FIFA.com (8 June 2018). "Football official Kwesi Nyantakyi banned from all football activities for 90 days by independent Ethics Committee". FIFA.com. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 8 June 2018.
  31. ^ "Ghana football head banned over 'cash gift'". BBC News. 8 June 2018. Archived from the original on 9 June 2018. Retrieved 8 June 2018.
  32. ^ "FIFA bans Kwesi Nyantakyi over Anas video". Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 8 June 2018.
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