The Ghana Football Federation (GFA) announced that it was dropping all coaches in all levels of football in the country. Black Stars coach Kwesi Appiah was the biggest casualty, leaving his post as the national team coach on his second stint.
According to the GFA, the changes are aimed at streamlining the ailing sport in the country, and that these changes would sweep across all football levels in the country.
For a whole year, Ghana football has been under a Normalization Committee before a new governing body was unveiled in October last year.
“The GFA extends its appreciation to all coaches and members of the respective national teams for their contributions to our teams and Ghana football.
We wish them all the best in their endeavors.” Read the statement from the GFA.
The most recent African Cup of Nations tournament in Egypt saw Ghana get eliminated in the second round, which was a very abysmal performance from the Black Stars by all standards. Coach Appiah has been a man under pressure following the poor showing, and the latest decision by the football governing body came as no surprise to the majority of the fans. It was a timely move that will certainly win the new office a lot of confidence from the general public. Fans who bet on soccer will be keen to see just what happens in the near future after the changes, and will be exploring the betting options brought about by Betway in the African continent.
Kwesi Appiah leaves together with his coaching crew made up of mainly former Black Stars players; Richard Kingson, Stephen Appiah, and Charles Akonnor.
Down to business for the new Ghana football leadership
The elections for the Ghana Football Association were held at a time when the country was grappling with a soiled reputation of corruption. It will be remembered that a corruption exposé aired globally nearly killed the sport in the once popular footballing powerhouse.
New GFA chief Kurt Okraku is well aware of the task at hand, and so far he is handling his duties well. His first assignment was to meet a delegation of FIFA officials and the Normalization Committee to get himself acquainted with what was on the ground. He has been hailed for not taking any rush decisions following his election as the 24th President of the GFA.
During his campaign, the 48-year old maintained that football in Ghana had sunk into oblivion following the damning allegations, and that his first priority would be fixing it from the roots.
Following his victory, all eyes will be on him to bring back the glory days of Ghana football starting right from the grassroots.
“Ghana football faces its biggest challenge but it also presents us with an opportunity to change things and embrace all the right principles of corporate governance.” Read the former journalist’s manifesto.
“We have the opportunity to build a new association with a clear business plan detailing excellence in management, accomplished marketing and sales team to churn out great football products and event experience supported by good communication with top notch financial and internal audit and compliance assurances.”
The job has only started, and the sweeping changes are viewed as the first step towards healing, and reflecting on the failures of the previous regimes to bring back sanity into the sport. Bet on the Ghana premier league with Betway for a chance to win huge sums of money every week.