How would you describe the news that a 22-year-old division two footballer who plays for Rex Football Club, in Dansoman, allegedly lured his 50-year-old sick mother from Jasikan in the Volta Region to Kasoa in the Central Region  to a ritualist, for sacrifice when the police accosted him?

Bizarre. Cold. Cruel. Desperate.

And what about another football related report from the Western Region in which a 38-year-old man strangled his 70-year-old grandmother to death on the weird grounds that the woman, whom he claims is a witch, is the reason his cousin -who is an excellent footballer- was unable to develop his skills?. 

Bizarre. Cold. Cruel. Desperate.

We can improve the description of these cold-blooded murders. 

The test for our sense of  humanity lies in our shock at the actions of these young men. Your shock is a sign that you are a right-thinking human being. 

Now pose these two scenarios to any of the 23-man squad of the Black Stars and get ready for their condemnation of these two killers because in that moment, the hypocrisy  becomes self-evident.

There is no real difference between the actions of these desperate wanna-be footballers and the comfortable elite squad of Ghana's best players - the Black Stars.

The Rex F,C  player, the Black stars player, I see no difference in both.

In fact following revelations that our boys demanded their $100,000 appearance fees, we may have cause to worry that more mothers and grandmothers could become targets for the failure of football desperados who would do anything to get to the top.

This so-called excellent footballer could have been selected to represent Ghana at the just ended 2014 World Cup in Brazil and consequently improve the economic state of the family, since players who participated in the tournament received a handsome fee in a currency blamed for Ghana cedi depreciation.

They have murdered a country's hopes and nation's dream and a belief that Ghana would do better in Brazil. Like the ghost of an innocent man hovering around, unable to move on to the next life and looking for justice, Ghanaians feel murdered, unfairly done. It's difficult to move on.

That players demanded the payment of appearance fee to the extent of standing on the neck government rejecting the offer from government to pay the monies electronically into their accounts is just unpardonable as it is unprecedented. The players were well aware that at the time they demanded the money, FIFA had not paid the qualification bonus into the state's coffers.

So government, acting under pressure, broke the countries laws and airlifted $3 million to Brazil to pay the players ahead of the crucial Portugal clash. Eventually, we lost that game by 1:2 thanks to John Boye's wild and directionless kick which saw the ball zoomed into his own net as well as Fatau Dauda's gift to Cristiano Ronaldo. 

John Boye kissed $100,000 and kissed away a shot at history at the World Cup goodbye; Sulley Muntari on the pitch almost punched a US  player after the player brought him down. But off the pitch days later, he punched a management member, punched the doorway for his exit from camp and then punched Ghana out of the tournament amidst huge embarrassment.

This has become a collateral damage on the image of Ghana now become a mockery anytime the tournament is being reviewed. 

Every member of the Black Starts team that represented Ghana at the 2014 tournament should not forget that their names will forever be mentioned anytime 2014 World Cup is being reviewed. It will be on their CVs and their grand children and great grand children will come and read it one day. They will learn how their forefathers killed their mother (Ghana) to earn $100,000, period!

We lost the opportunity to make history at the global showpiece. But we grabbed the dishonorable opportunity to make one, which has now swiftly swept away the accomplishments the team recorded in Germany and South Africa in the 2006 and 2010 editions respectively.

No African country has gone beyond the quarter-finals stage. An inviting and annoying statistic. But it will remain until Russia 2018.

As if the other players of other nations want to send Ghana's team a message, some teams are just giving their bonuses away. 
In a  bankrupt Greece, the players donated their money to build a sports academy of a sort. They are thinking next generation.

Great. thoughtful, selfless.

In Argentina, the Albiceleste squad were paid £14.6m for finishing in second place in the tournament in Brazil. But the players have decided to donate £ 80,000 to Hospital Garrahan’s paediatric cancer centre according to reports in Argentina.

Great. thoughtful, selfless.

Germany midfielder, Mesut Ozil, was said to have donated his £240,000 World Cup bonus – which he received for helping his team win the competition at the Maracana last week – to charity projects in Brazil.

Great. thoughtful, selfless.

Maybe these examples are not African enough.
Well.

Algeria will donate their £5.25m ($9m) Brazil World Cup second round prize money to the people of Gaza, according to striker Islam Slimani.

Great. thoughtful, selfless.