Former Vice President of the Ghana Football Association (GFA), George Afriyie has criticised the Kurt Okraku’s led administration for engaging in ‘trial and error’ with the national team’s coaching job.
Under Okraku’s leadership, the Black Stars have had five different head coaches without achieving significant success in international tournaments.
CK Akonnor was appointed in 2020 following the dismissal of Kwesi Appiah. However, Akonnor was sacked, and Milovan Rajevac took over, only to be dismissed after the team’s early exit from the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
Otto Addo then stepped in on an interim basis and successfully guided the team to qualification for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. However, after their elimination from the tournament, Addo announced his resignation.
Chris Hughton, who had served as a technical advisor, was given the job but was dismissed after the Black Stars were also knocked out in the 2023 AFCON group stage in Ivory Coast.
In March 2024, the GFA reappointed Otto Addo on a long-term contract. Yet, under his guidance, the Black Stars failed to qualify for the 2025 AFCON.
Afriyie, in an interview, expressed disappointment with the GFA’s handling of the coaching situation, suggesting that the constant changes have led to confusion and instability.
He criticized the association for continuously experimenting with coaching staff, pointing to the rapid turnover as a sign of poor decision-making.
“Coach CK [Akonnor] was sacked, you brought in Milovan Rajevac, Milo was sacked and they brought in Otto Addo. Otto [Addo] said he was not ready for the job on the long term,” he said.
“He [Otto Addo] left, then we brought in Chris Hughton, Chris was sacked and Otto Addo was brought in again. So if you are doing this within a space of five years, what are you doing, is it not true and error?
“Look at Otto [Addo] being an inexperienced coach. We agreed that Otto until taking over this job has never been a head coach of any serious team before.
“Check his assistants, none of his assistants too are experienced. Elsewhere if you bring an inexperienced coach, you will get the coach bringing in very good people to be his deputies or his assistants. But in this case, the coach is inexperienced.
“Otto Addo took us to the World Cup with Mas Ud Didi Dramani as an assistant coach, Chris Hughton as an assistant coach, George Boateng as an assistant coach, that was what we had before,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Black Stars will wrap up their qualifiers against Mali at the Accra Sports Stadium.