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Deputy Sports Minister Nii Nortey Dua has reiterated government�s intention not to financially sponsor any supporter group to Gabon/Equatorial Guinea where the next edition of the AFCON is going to be held. Africa�s number one football tournament kicks off next Saturday January 21, and already about 27 different supporter groups in the country are decrying the government�s inability to sponsor them to cheer the Black Stars to victory. Reports say these various groups are struggling to raise the needed funding to travel to Gabon to support the Black Stars and attempts to access government support has failed. However, Nii Nortey Dua, in an interview with Xfm 95.1, says the norm is not for government to sponsor supporters unions to major football tournaments. According to him, all the Ministry does is to facilitate visas for members of the group with introductory letters- a task he said government has never reneged on. He added though that failure to grant anybody visa solely rests on the Embassy of the host nation, saying, government cannot be blamed for this. �All that the Ministry will do is to give you a letter of introduction; if there is any reason why you were refused visa, you cannot blame that on the government. It is the sovereign responsibility of the host country,� Nii Nortey affirmed. �The World Cup in South Africa was an exceptional case. Government paid for everything from airfare to accommodation, etc, but for the Africa Cup of Nations, government is not ready and does not have any plans to do that,� he added. Meanwhile, the Deputy Minister, who also is the MP for Ledzokuku Constituency is calling on Ghanaians to support the Black Stars to victory because he believes �the team has the wherewithal to win the tournament�. He warns against complacency since according to him, the era of underdogs in football is long over. �People think that because some big teams are missing, it will be easy to win, but this time, there is no big team or small team. If you underrate any team, you will be shocked to the bone. People wrote us off in Angola, but we managed to reach the finale. I think that our boys will do well; they will win the ultimate�. Ghana�s Black Stars will open their account in Group D against Botswana on January 24 in Franceville, Gabon, where they will be based.