Match-fixing claims are looming over World Cup, amid allegations that officials connected to the Ghanaian FA were willing to fix international friendly matches.
The meeting was part of six month investigation in which representatives of “Diamond Capital” said they wanted to arrange football matches while appointing the referees.
As part of a joint investigation with Channel 4’s Dispatches, the Daily Telegraph filmed a registered FIFA agent, Christopher Forsythe and Obed Nketiah, who sits on the management committee of the Ghana under-20 team, allegedly promising they would be able to arrange a deal to rig international friendlies.
The pair allegedly claimed they would be able to “grease the palms” of Ghana officials to ensure the deal was signed and would include a clause allowing them to pick their own match officials who could ensure the required result occurred.
Later, president of the Ghanain FA, Kwesi Nyantakyi said that Diamond Capital could be granted an “experimental period” before the Ghana FA agreed that all their friendly matches should be organised by Diamond.
The Ghanaian FA immediately issued a statement which said the two men had been reported to the police “for misrepresenting the GFA with an attempt to defraud”.
It confirmed that Forsythe and Nketiah had approached its president, Kwesi Nyantakyi, with a proposal to buy the rights to friendlies for the Black Stars.
It claimed that they then turned up without appointment at the Ghanaian pre-World Cup training camp in Miami to discuss their offer, which was submitted to the GFA’s legal committee.
“We wish to state that the GFA did not sign the contract as we waited for the response from the legal committee and that the two gentlemen did not make such corrupt offers to the GFA or its officials.”.
However, the Telegraph produced footage which appeared to show Nyantakyi agreeing to work to a contract that stated the investment company would pay $170,000 (£100,000) for each match and gave them the right to appoint match officials.
Forsythe and Nketiah denied any involvement in a plot to fix matches. Nketiah said: “These are false allegations and I will never in my life do such a thing.”
Forsythe said: “To be frank everything I told [the Telegraph] about the match-fixing was a figment of my own imagination because I am so naive that I don’t even know how matches are done. They were promises just to be able to get something off you.”
Nyantakyi said he had not read the contract and he did not know about the deal to fix games. He said the proposed match would have been handled by a licensed FIFA match agent and he was unaware that Forsythe had demanded £30,000 for the GFA, the Telegraph reported.
Ghana drew 2-2 with Germany on Saturday but will face searching questions over the new claims.