Former Ghana Football Association (GFA) President Kwesi Nyantakyi has dismissed claims that he once boasted of having the Ghanaian president “in his pocket,” describing the allegation as false and deliberately damaging.
Speaking in an interview with JoyNews, Nyantakyi rejected reports that he made such remarks ahead of the release of Anas Aremeyaw Anas’ investigative documentary, Number 12, which exposed widespread corruption in Ghanaian football.
“I never said the president was in my pocket. I never said that anywhere,” Nyantakyi stated.
“That allegation has gained so much notoriety that it will be illogical for me to even stand up to contradict it. It was the figment of somebody’s imagination just to discredit me and make me look very bad in the eyes of the public—and they succeeded.”
Ahead of the documentary’s release in 2018, claims circulated that Nyantakyi had told an unidentified investor that his political connections could be leveraged to facilitate business entry into Ghana.
The Number 12 exposé later showed Nyantakyi accepting US$65,000 from an undercover journalist while making claims about his ability to use political influence to advance business interests. The revelations sparked national outrage and triggered sweeping reforms in Ghanaian football.
In October 2018, FIFA imposed a lifetime ban on Nyantakyi for breaches of its code of ethics, a sanction that was later reduced to a 15-year suspension.
Nyantakyi resigned from his positions at the GFA, the Confederation of African Football (CAF), and FIFA in June 2018, as the corruption scandal sent shockwaves through the country’s football administration.
Despite the sanctions and public backlash, Nyantakyi maintains that some of the most damaging claims attributed to him—including assertions about controlling political power—were fabricated to ruin his reputation.
By Prince Tuffuor
