A senior lecturer at the Applied Economics department of the University for Development Studies (UDS) Dr Michael Ayamga Adongo has said Ghana’s failure to maintain one coach for the senior national team for a longer period of time is partly to blame for the dwindling fortunes of the Black Stars.
He said the country needs to develop a 10-year program that will train players from the grassroot level into the senior national team with the active involvement of coaches.
The performance of the Black Stars in recent Afcons and friendlies leaves more to be desired.
In 2019, Ghana was knocked out of the round of 16 by Tunisia after winning only one match and drawing two.
In 2022, the team was booted out at the group stages after failing to win a single match and suffering two defeats.
The Black Stars were to an uninspiring start in the 2023 Afcon after losing 2 – 1 against Cape Verde in their opening match.
Ghana drew two all against the Pharaohs of Egypt in a match the team stood a clear chance of winning.
But Dr Ayamga who is a football enthusiast and owner of 2nd Division side, Kasalgu Arrow Heads FC, a Tamale-based football club, believes the team’s fortunes can be turned around if the right things are done.
He made the comments while speaking on Tamale-based Nessim FM’s current affairs program, ISSUES AT HAND.
“I will say that for Ghana now, we need to maintain Chris Hughton, build a strong team and design a 10-year national philosophy program where we start growing the next generation of players with the coaches deeply involved in training these people at the grassroot,” he suggested.
He also blamed the team’s poor showing at the Afcon 2023 on how the technical team was constituted.
He said the technical is made up of men who are authorities and who may not be able to gel well with the head coach.
“You will realize that the technical team was not gelling and it is because he (Chris Hughton) didn’t assemble them. They are not thinking as one unit. These are people who are authority and you put them under Chris Hughton and expect them to reflect what he says,” he stated
Dr Ayamga however expects the Black Stars to triumph over Mozambique on Monday January 22, 2024 to qualify to the next stage of the competition.
Source: universalnewsgh.com