Former Ghana Football Association (GFA) vice-president George Afriyie has questioned the decision to form a committee to identify the next head coach of the Black Stars.
The five-member committee, chaired by former GFA vice-president Fred Pappoe, was established following the resignation of Carlos Queiroz and is expected to submit its recommendations on Friday, 9 October.
However, Afriyie believes the GFA should have already identified a pool of potential coaches instead of starting the search process from scratch.
Speaking to Sporty FM, he cited France, Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal as examples of countries he believes have been more proactive in planning for changes in the national team coaching position.
“Now, I personally think that there was no need for the formation of a committee at this level,” Afriyie said.
He argued that France would have already conducted background checks and held discussions with potential candidates before Didier Deschamps’ departure, using Zinedine Zidane as an example.
Afriyie also pointed to Côte d’Ivoire’s decision to appoint Hervé Renard, whom he said the country already knew well from his previous work, while Senegal’s appointment of former France international Patrick Vieira was another example of a country assessing its options before making a decision.
The former GFA vice-president said Ghana should have a similar system in place, with potential coaches assessed in advance so that a suitable replacement can be identified quickly whenever the Black Stars job becomes vacant.
Afriyie, however, said Sports and Recreation Minister Kofi Iddie Adams should not be blamed for the current situation, insisting that responsibility for appointing the national team coach rests with the GFA.
“But I don’t blame the minister. I don’t really want to blame the minister. The problem is not the minister’s problem. The problem, it’s GFA’s problem,” he said.
Afriyie rejected suggestions that the Ministry of Sports has been heavily involved in the appointment of Black Stars coaches since Kurt Okraku became GFA president.
“It is the duty of the GFA to get us a coach. And they have gotten a coach from since Kurt came up to now,” he said.
“I hear people trying to say, ‘Oh, each time the ministry is involved.’ The ministry is by way of information, trust me. The ministry is not deeply involved.”
He also challenged claims that members of the new coaching search committee are representatives of the Sports Ministry.
Afriyie specifically cited Agbesi Kwadzo Dzakpasu, pointing out that he has been involved with the GFA since the administration of former president Kwesi Nyantakyi and currently serves as chairman of the GFA Appeals Committee.
“See, the names you’ve put here today, show me one person that is a ministry representative,” he said.
“Agbesi, as we speak, since Kwesi Nyantakyi was there, has always been part of the GFA. Today, as we speak, Agbesi is the chairman of the Appeals Committee of the Ghana Football Association. In fact, Agbesi is a member of the new Ghana Premier League that they’ve gone to form. So how does that come from the ministry?”
Pappoe is joined on the committee by former Black Stars captain Stephen Appiah, former Ghana international Anthony Baffoe, Faisal Chibsah and Dzakpasu.
The committee was formed after Queiroz stepped down following Ghana’s poor start to the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
The Black Stars lost 2-0 to Côte d’Ivoire in their opening Group C match before suffering a 4-2 defeat by The Gambia at the Accra Sports Stadium.
Ghana are now preparing for a double-header against Somalia in November, with reports suggesting the committee could recommend an interim coach to oversee those matches before a permanent appointment is made.
Source: Ghana Soccer Net
