Number 12 did more harm to Ghana football” — Sannie Daara on long-term damage to the game

Media Officer with the Confederation of African Football (CAF), Ibrahim Sannie Daara has described the fallout from the Number 12 Investigation as deeply damaging to Ghana football, warning that its impact went far beyond individual reputations.

Speaking on Kafui Dey’s platform, he said the exposé triggered systemic fear, mistrust, and a collapse in confidence across the football ecosystem.

“It destroyed a lot of the things… referees were afraid to officiate Ghana matches because people would conclude they had been bribed,” he said.

According to him, the ripple effects altered how matches involving Ghana were handled, with officials becoming overly strict to avoid suspicion.

He also pointed to a wider collapse in goodwill and credibility across African football circles.

“A lot of the goodwill we had built was destroyed,” he stressed.

Sannie Daara recalled an incident at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations where hostility toward Ghanaian journalists was visibly high, linking it to lingering perceptions from the scandal.

“When one of the guys introduced himself as a journalist from Ghana, the president of a federation just got up and left. He said he didn’t want to hear about Ghanaian journalists,” he recounted.

He further argued that the crisis weakened Ghana’s football development structures by removing experienced personnel and disrupting established systems.

“The systems that we had built for success to continue were disturbed and collapsed,” he said.

Despite the turbulence, he maintained that much of what happened was driven by internal dynamics within the football family, not just external forces, a situation he says continues to shape discussions about governance and accountability in Ghana football today.