Belgian coach Tom Saintfiet among Six top coaches shortlisted for vacant Black Stars job

Published on: 16 December 2022

Belgian trainer Tom Saintfiet is among the six coaches shortlisted for the vacant Black Stars coaching job, Footballghana.com can report.

After the exit of Otto Addo, the Ghana Football Association (GFA) has shortlisted six top coaches for the vacant job with Saintfiet no exception.

The Black Stars is currently without a substantive coach following the exit of Germany-based gaffer Otto Addo after Ghana’s early exit at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Otto Addo announced his departure from the Black Stars after defeat to Uruguay, which derailed the four-time African champions chances of progressing to the knockout phase of the biggest soccer mundial.

Footballghana.com understands that six top coaches are up for the vacant Black Stars job with George Boateng and Chris Hughton who served under Otto Addo being included.

Tom Saintfiet, who is currently the head coach of the Gambian national team is a key contender for the Black Stars job.

The 49-year-old qualified the country for their first Africa Cup of Nation qualification in 2021, leading them to a quarter-final finish.

He has extensive experience in African football, having taken over as Namibia's head coach in 2008.

Since then, he has led Zimbabwe, Malawi, Togo, Ethiopia, and now The Gambia. The Belgian has also worked in Nigeria as a technical advisor.

Serbian trainer Dragan Stojković is among the list of coaches selected for the Black Stars coaching job.

The 57-year-old is currently the head coach of the Serbian national team and will hope to land the Black Stars job

Chris Hughton and George Boateng who has already worked with the Black Stars faces a stiff competition from World-class coaches like Thomas Tuchel and Paulo Bento.

Both Thomas Tuchel and Paulo Bento are without a job following their exit from Chelsea and South Korea respectively.

The German trainer was shown the exit door at Chelsea over an unimpressive performance whiles the Portuguese coach stepped down after South Korea were booted out of the World Cup in Round of 16.

He led the Serbian team to the 2022 World Cup but were unable to booted out of the tournament along the line.

The Ghana FA is expected to name a new coach for the national team, knowing very well that there is an AFCON qualifier games set for March 2023.

The Black Stars were eliminated after the first round of the tournament following a 2-0 defeat to Uruguay.

After defeating South Korea in their second group game, the Black Stars needed a draw or win against Uruguay to advance to the last 16 stage.

But the team failed to negotiate for points against their ‘enemies’ Uruguay.

Ghana made a strong start to the game, but fell apart after captain Andre Ayew missed a penalty in the 21st minute, a repeat of what happened in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

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