January 3 – Ghana’s Football Association (GFA) has dismissed all its national team coaches, from age-group teams through to the full senior sides.
On Thursday evening, he GFA announced the clear-out of coaching staff, ending the second spell of Kwesi Appiah in charge of the Black Stars. He had previously coached Ghana from 2012 to 2014 and led the team to the World Cup finals in Brazil. At the last Africa Cup of Nations Ghana crashed out against Tunisia in the second round after a penalty shout-out. Appiah’s removal had already been expected shortly after the tournament.
In October, Kurt Okraku took charge of the GFA after the association had been under the command of a normalisation committee. That committee had been put in place following the financial corruption scandal that saw FIFA ban former president Kwesi Nyantakyi in June 2018, just before the kick off of the Russia World Cup.
New GFA boss Okraku had promised major changes and didn’t wait long to act on his promise. A GFA statement did not communicate the precise reason of its decision, saying that it had “dissolved the technical teams of all national teams with immediate effect.”
“The GFA extends its appreciation to all coaches and members of the respective national teams for their contributions to our teams and Ghana football,” wrote the association.
“We wish them all the best in their endeavours.”
The drastic move involves not only the men’s teams but all women’s sides as well, meaning Ghana will not have any coaching chiefs at any level of the game, the latest savage blow to the image of African football both on and off the field.
Nyantakyi, a former member of the Fifa Council, has already been banned for life because of the afore-mentioned bribery scandal and while Okraku has been promising to “build a new association” following the dissolution of the GFA, he now finds himself with no senior coaches to work with. All this against the background of the so-called normalisation committee put in place by Fifa.
Remarkably, despite the concept of governments not getting involved in football matters, the President of Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo, is reported to have thrown his weight behind the decision to sack Appiah whose interim replacement is rumoured to be former Black Stars captain C.K (Charles) Akunnor
Contact the writer of this story, Samindra Kunti, at moc.l1713480210labto1713480210ofdlr1713480210owedi1713480210sni@o1713480210fni1713480210, additional reporting by moc.l1713480210labto1713480210ofdlr1713480210owedi1713480210sni@w1713480210ahsra1713480210w.wer1713480210dna1713480210