Situational analysis of Ghana football and the way forward

The recent abysmal performance of the senior national team, the Black Stars and football matters in Ghana have become the subject of public discussion. The Black Stars were recently eliminated from the Qatar 2022 World Cup tournament at the preliminary stage.

Before then, this same crop of players and the management team were seen crawling at the group stage in the 2022 African Cup of Nations hosted by Cameroon. In that engagement, the Black Stars of Ghana managed to garner only a point thereby failed to advance to the next stage of the competition.

A country that prides itself as a football nation were beaten by Morocco and Comoros Island. Why are we at this mess that countries who were hitherto
not known to be football nations could now beat Ghana national team? What is going on that as a country we are refusing to discuss issue as a nation?

Meanwhile, greater part of the Ministry of Youth and Sports budget is spent on activities of national teams particularly the Black Stars. Ghana was the first country to have won four nation cup trophies as at 1982 but the story today differs from realities.

Countries like Cameroon and Egypt have won five and seven trophies respectively. Strangely, as at 1982 Cameroon had not won any trophy and Egypt too had won only one trophy. From 1982 till date, what has really gone wrong with our football system?

The former Parma and Juventus playmaker, Stephen Appiah burst out his frustration in an interview on the recent happenings in the Ghana football landscape and he was met with vicious attack by some people close to corridor of football-powers.

The former national team captain was surprised about the football-people reactions to his observations. As matters were about settling, the former prolific goal scorer of Ghana Black Stars and Leeds United of Great Britain, Anthony Yeboah in an interview in few days ago described Ghana's football as
dead.

The stories around the local leagues are testimony to the effect that all is not well with our football system in the country. Can you imagine that in the entire first 24-man squad invited by coach Chris Hughton for the Ivory Coast, African Cup of Nation qualify against Madagascar, there is no single local player in the squad?

The last minute inclusion of Hafiz Konkoni of Bechem United is nothing but a window dress. This scenario confirms Anthony Yeboah assertion that Ghana football is dead. If the local premier league cannot serve as the incubator for nursing local players for national assignment, then where are we as a country.

It is not surprising that the current coach of the Black Stars, Chris Hughton explained his inability to invite local players into the team as “The level of the league, the better players".

The local league is not attractive to investors and fans to patronizs. Various stadia are virtually emptied when the local league matches are shown on the television screens.

Interestingly, the recent dominance of Senegal national teams is worthy for emulation. Senegal has won the 2022 AFCON, 2022 Beach Soccer, 2023 CHAN, 2023 U-20 and 2023 U-27. It’s worth mentioning that all the trophies won by Senegal were through their indigenous coaches. What exactly did Senegalese do that is fetching them these results?

Where did we go wrong that instead of the GFA president and Executive Committee to be discussing strategies to revive virtually collapse football activities at both regional and continental level but are rather advocating for extension of tenure of office of the executive committee members?

Is there any correlation between long tenure of office to winning of
trophies? The knew order of roaming from one European country to the other scouting for players with Ghanaian background will not help in storing our lost glory in football.

The time has come as a country to undertake retrospective analysis of happenings in our football for the development of a blueprint that will see us winning trophies again. For truly, stakeholders’ approach to development of strategies is the way to redeem the dead football system.

Again, Ghana Football Association president, Kurt Edwin Simeon-Okraku and his
Executive committee should be humble to submit themselves to the leadership of Senegal and Morocco Football Associations for the way forward.