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Asante Kotoko players have received their outstanding per diems after they boycotted training in Sudan – but bonuses are still yet to be paid.

The 22 players, who made the trip to North African country, opted not to train on Tuesday morning over unpaid bonuses and per diems ahead of their second leg Caf Champions League clash with Al Hilal. The intent was to boycott the match, forcing management to act quickly to settle part of the debts.

Joy Sports sources say Administrative and Operations Manager, Emmanuel Newton Dasobere and Chief Executive Officer Nana Yaw Amponsah, met Team Manager Ohene Brenya and presented all per diems owed the players to them.

The players received a total of $8,800 with each player pocketing $400.

The players took the decision to boycott training before they left Accra on Sunday. No management member met the team for any discussion on how to win or what is at stake when they arrived.

Some players complained about the lack of respect from management. The senior players then called management into a meeting to make clear their unhappiness.

They talked about bonuses from games against Legon Cities and Dreams FC as well as per diem from the FC Nouadhibou game.

The players made it clear that they won’t play this Hilal game if they are not paid.

Nana Yaw Amponsah then promised to pay after the game but the players rejected it.

Ghana Football Association (GFA) Executive Council Oduro Sarfo, who is the leader of Kotoko’s delegation in Sudan, tried to intervene but to no avail.

Management had no option than to pay the money to avoid embarrassment.

An arrangement has been made for the players to train in the evening before the match on Wednesday.

Kotoko need a miracle to progress to the first round of the competition after losing the first leg 1-0 in Accra last month.

©Joy Sports

Asante Kotoko SC players have boycotted training in Sudan ahead of their crucial CAF Champions League game against Al-Hilal Omdurman due to unpaid bonuses.

The players are owed per diem of their last game in Mauritania against FC Nouadhibou where they drew 1-1. They qualified after FC Nouadhibou was disqualified. Our sources indicate that bonuses of that game is yet to be paid to the players.

According to a reliable source, winning bonuses of their games against Legon Cities FC and Dreams FC in the Ghana Premier League have also not been paid coupled with the monthly salaries of December 2020.

footy.ghpush.com/ understands the players refused to train at the scheduled time and were engaged in a meeting with the management at the team's hotel far away in Sudan.

The first leg of this fixture saw the Porcupine Warriors lose 1-0 to the Sudanese giants at the Accra Sports Stadium a fortnight ago.

The second leg is scheduled to take place on Wednesday 9 January 2021 at the Al Hilal Stadium.

Asante Kotoko have secured rights to broadcast their Caf Champions League second preliminary round return encounter away to Al-Hilal on Wednesday.

The deal was signed “under the principle of reciprocity” before the first leg clash in Accra on December 23.

That allowed Hilal to broadcast the 1-0 victory to their fans back home in Sudan on live TV.

Kotoko were represented by CEO Nana Yaw Amponsah who signed the agreement with Personal Assistant and acting Communications Director David Obeng Nyarko as a witness when he paid a courtesy call on Hilal at their team hotel.

The Porcupine Warriors arrived in Sudan on Monday, two clear days ahead of the crucial tie decider scheduled for the Al-Hilal Stadium in Omdurman.

Kotoko, it is understood will stream the match on the platform of their official virtual broadcaster and entertainment partners, CEEK.

The Hilal-Kotoko clash is scheduled for 13:00 GMT kickoff with Rwandan Louis Hakkizinana as centre referee.

The aggregate winner of this tie advances to the group stage of the Caf Champions League while the loser drops to battle in the final round of the Confederation Cup group stage qualifiers.

©Footyghana