Black Stars: Building in the sinking sands

It is tempting to feel bad for the five-member committee tasked with finding Ghana’s next coach.

After all, they have not done anything wrong. Nor do they have any questionable past that should justify the dismissiveness.

Take, for instance, Stephen Appiah.

Possibly the greatest captain Ghana has ever produced. He is Ghana’s “Mr. Do no wrong” and for good reason. Appiah was captain of a golden generation that delivered Ghana’s first World Cup qualification.

Beyond captaining the Black Stars at two World Cups, Appiah has also served as Team Manager and vice chair of the Black Stars Management Committee.

Appiah understands the team culture better than most and would know the kind of character required to coach this team.

Then there is another former player: Tony Baffoe.

Baffoe was once Deputy General Secretary at CAF from November 2017 to June 2021.
Since then, he has been preoccupied with running the Professional Footballers Association of Ghana.

Fred Pappoe needs no introduction either.
In an administrative career spanning decades, Pappoe has served in various roles at the GFA, including as Vice President.

The youngest and perhaps the most exciting name is Faisal Chibsah.

Faisal Chibsah, brother of former player Yusif Alhasan Chibsah, is a High Performance Specialist

He first gained the country’s attention when he was disqualified from the contest for the Technical Director role at the GFA for the crime of being “too young.”

Since then, Faisal has taken his young but smart, innovative self to small and ignorant entities like FIFA, which handed him the role of High Performance Expert.

Agbesi Dzakpasu is also no stranger to the GFA.
He has served as the GFA’s prosecutor and a member of the Legal and Appeals Committees.

So, in fairness, the committee has a good mix of experienced administrators, institutional knowledge, understanding of Black Stars culture, and, I dare say, in Chibsah, someone not compromised by association with the old, dysfunctional culture that has led us here.

More to the point, whoever they appoint, if they are actually good at what they do and are the right fit for the profile of squad Ghana currently has, should be able to get results.
At least some short-term success.

But the brutal truth is that this is not just about the competence of the committee and its members.

It is simply about the environment, the product of which their decision will be working in, and the conveyor belt that feeds the Black Stars.

There are hardly any coincidences in life, and the simultaneous malaise of Ghana’s national teams reflects that more than anything else.

There is a direct relationship between the fortunes of the Black Starlets (U-17) , Black Satellites (U-20), and the Black Stars.

Ghana’s golden era of 2005 to 2017 was founded on strong youth teams.

Derek Boateng (left), Addoquaye Pappoe (middle), and Sulley Muntari celebrate one of Ghana’s goals at the U-20 World Cup in Argentina

When Ghana finished as runners-up at the 2001 World Youth Championships in Argentina, the Black Stars benefited. John Paintsil, Addoquaye Pappoe, John Mensah, Michael Essien, Derek Boateng, and Sulley Muntari would later form the nucleus (the others being Stephen Appiah and Laryea Kingston) of the team that qualified Ghana for its first senior World Cup in 2006.

Six years later, another Under-20 success, this time as tournament winners in Egypt, would seal Ghana’s return as a proper heavyweight on the continent.

Samuel Inkoom, Daniel Opare, Jonathan Mensah, Agyemang Badu, Rabiu Mohammed, Andre Ayew, Dominic Adiyiah and Rabiu Mohammed were instant hits for Ghana.

That is how, even with injury depriving Ghana of Essien, Appiah, Laryea Kingston, and Sulley Muntari, Ghana still qualified for a first AFCON final in eighteen years, qualified for the World Cup for a second consecutive time, and were a spot kick from making the semi-final of the World Cup.

Three years later, another Under-20 team, while not as successful, produced Baba Rahman, Ebenezer Ofori, Frank Acheampong, and Richmond Boakye Yiadom, who have had varying degrees of successful international careers.

Baba Rahman represented Ghana at the youth level

In those three Under-20 cycles from 2001 to 20013, Ghana were world champions in 2009, runners-up in 2001 and 2013, and African champions in 2009.

That directly translated into Black Stars’ successes. Apart from the already stated World Cup exploits, Ghana made the semi-finals of six consecutive AFCON tournaments and finished second twice.

Since then, the only successful spell for Ghana at any level was the U-20 AFCON success in 2021.

Ghana has failed to qualify for major tournaments, not just at U-20 level, but at U-17 and even U-23 levels.

In total, Ghana has failed to qualify for eight men’s (mostly youth) tournaments.

2020 Olympics
2023 U-17 AFCON
2023 U-20 AFCON
2023 U-20 World Cup
2024 Olympics Men’s Football
2025 U-17 AFCON
2025 U-20 World Cup
2025 AFCON
2025 CHAN

The conveyor belt has stopped, and the national team has consequently grieved.

Ghana has since suffered a round-of-16 exit at AFCON 2019, consecutive group-stage exits at AFCON 2021 and AFCON 23, while failing to qualify for the last tournament.

Curiously, the same allegations of interference in player selections at youth levels exist at senior level, too.

Forget that for a moment and look at the coaching turnover.

Since assuming office, Kurt Okraku’s administration has hired four coaches for the Black Satellites. That means each coach gets less than two years on the job before they get sacked.

The situation is significantly worse with the Black Starlets, where nine coaches have been hired and fired in seven years.

It is eerily similar to the Black Stars; seven coaches in seven years.

Poor coaching appointments.

Poor squad selections, resulting in poor teams.

The result is that the best players only play for Ghana when they are already at the senior level, with no prior experience of playing together in a national team, and are completely alien to the team culture and character required.

It is also why Ghana shops around the globe for anyone who can pronounce ‘‘jollof’’ to play for Ghana.

So it does not matter who picks the poisoned chalice that is the Black Stars coaching job.

If the GFA is not deliberate about a well-thought-through, properly resourced, and credible youth program similar to what served Ghana well, any other measure will be a complete waste of time and resources.