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I’m from a poor background but God took me far – Nyantakyi reflects on career

The ex-GFA boss says he is thankful to God for making him great despite his deprived background.

Nyantakyi grew up in Wa in the Upper West region of Ghana, but rose to become a prominent member of the global football fraternity.

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The Wa All Stars owner went on to become Ghana FA Boss, WAFU president, CAF 1 vice president and a FIFA Council Member.

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However, the embattled 49-year-old stepped down from all his posts after being implicated in an exposé by investigative journalist, Anas Aremeyaw Anas.

Nyantakyi was captured on camera compromising his position as head of Ghana’s FA, in what was a secret filming.

He was recorded transacting ‘shady’ deals with supposed investors and advising them on how to short-change clubs in the Ghana Premier League when signing up for a sponsorship.

But in a recorded conversation following his resignation, Nyantakyi reflected on his journey so far from nowhere to the echelons of world football.

According to him, he’s thankful to God for how far he has come, having risen from a deprived community to become a global icon.

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“If I even resign today from GFA, CAF and FIFA, I will thank God [because] God has taken me very far [looking at] where I came from,” Nyantakyi said.

“I came from a very deprived background. The school I went to, those days we didn’t even have electricity, we used generator. And when it’s 10pm they put it off because the generator cannot be on throughout the night, so you have to get a lantern if you want to learn after 10pm. You would be learning and the smoke [from the lantern] will be entering your nose – I remember we really suffered.”

Meanwhile, Nyantakyi is currently under investigation and has been handed a 90-day provisional ban from FIFA.

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