By Ashiadey Dotse
CAF Senior Media Officer Ibrahim Sannie Daara has attributed the recent struggles of Ghana’s Black Stars to frequent changes in their coaching staff.
Since Kurt Okraku became GFA president, the national team has had five different head coaches. CK Akonnor replaced Kwesi Appiah but was later succeeded by Milovan Rajevac. After a disappointing performance at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon, Rajevac was let go, and Otto Addo took over temporarily for the World Cup playoffs against Nigeria.
Addo led the Black Stars to qualify for the World Cup in Qatar but resigned following an early exit from the tournament. Chris Hughton, who had been the team’s technical advisor, was then appointed as head coach, only to be dismissed after another group-stage elimination at the 2023 AFCON in Ivory Coast.
In March, the Ghana Football Association rehired Otto Addo with a 34-month contract.
Sannie Daara, who used to be the Communications Director for the Ghana Football Association, thinks these frequent coaching changes have disrupted the team’s growth and confidence.
He told Asempa FM, “The Black Stars defeated Nigeria to qualify for the World Cup with a very young team. If we had kept the momentum going, the team could have done better, but we failed to maintain it.”
He believes that patience is needed as Addo builds a strong and competitive squad.
“The team struggles in tournaments and even against weaker sides now. The technical team is working on developing a young team, so we need to be patient,” he said.
The Black Stars are currently third in Group F with only two points from four games. They face Angola in Luanda on November 15 and then play at home against Niger Republic three days later in their final qualifiers for AFCON 2025.