A nation on its knees: Ghanaian football needs saving
Neglect, complacency and incompetence.
Ghana were once the crown jewel of African football - boasting the best players within a rich culture that was obsessed with the sport from top to bottom. Now, the state of the national team is hardly even a shadow of what it once was.
It’s difficult to stress just how dire the situation is in Ghana. When you think it can’t get any worse, it manages to do just that and there are literally no signs to suggest anything will improve in the near future. Ghana have won the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) four times (1963, 1965, 1978 and 1982) and although it’s been a while since they’ve lifted the continent’s bigging trophy - they have still remained one of the best footballing countries in Africa. From 2014-2017, the Black Stars had made it to the semi-finals of the competition every time and although they failed to go all the way, this does demonstrate a high level of consistency and talent that can’t be sniffed at.
However, if you fast-forward to today - the drop-off in success has been genuinely staggering. Ghana have gone from making it to the latter stages of the competition consistently, to failing to even qualify. Every 2 years, the fate of the Ghanaian national team seems to be more embarrassing than it was the campaign before - to the point where I’m not actually sure if it can get any worse than it is now.
Let’s briefly revisit Ghana’s last 5 AFCON campaigns and examine how they fared:
2017: Quarter-final exit
2019: Round of 16
2021: Group stage exit
2023: Failed to qualify
2025: Failed to qualify
For a footballing powerhouse like Ghana, its recent AFCON performances can’t be described as anything else but cataclysmic failures. It’s unfathomable that a nation with such pedigree has declined this drastically, yet that is the unfortunate reality. At the time of writing, Ghana currently sit at 70th in the football world rankings - the 12th best in Africa… To put this into perspective, only 15 years ago were they 14th in the world as the highest ranked country in Africa.
In case I haven’t made it clear enough already - the Ghana national team is really bad at football right now and are worryingly declining further with every year. If you’re wondering how exactly it has got to this dire situation they’ve found themselves in, then this article will hopefully aid you in coming to a better understanding. Just a warning though, it is not a short answer as there are many different reasons for this decline.
Institutional Rot
The first issue is the most pressing one because it’s the hardest to fix. When it’s corrupt at the top, you’re left very little hope at the bottom. The Ghana Football Association (GFA) is a joke. The people in charge of Ghanaian football have no long-term ideas and lack strategic thinking. Quite frankly, they don’t seem like very smart people. Many fans and pundits in Ghana point to the GFA as the primary cause of their decline and this for a multitude of reasons. Allegations of nepotism and embezzlement have plagued the organisation for years with serious rumours circulating the country that players are able to pay their way into the squad instead of receiving call-ups on merit. Kurt Okrau, the leader of the GFA since 2019 - promised reform and improvement through his presidency but instead the opposite has occurred. Countless amounts of money, that should’ve been used for investing in facilities and youth development, has been used instead for petty power struggles. Strangely it was former GFA President Kwesi Nyantakyi who summed up the current state of affairs at the top of Ghanaian football the best: "Football is like pregnancy; you can't hide it. Ghana football is not going well, and everyone can see that. Nothing is working. While no one is perfect, we all make decisions, and sometimes, after reflection, we realize mistakes and seek to correct them.” Ironically enough, Nyantakyi resigned in 2018 after video footage emerged of him allegedly accepting a bribe and making claims about his large influence over other high-ranking government officials. Adding this to counts of age fraud allegations and little to no support for the Ghanaian women’s Premier League and it is evident that there is a severe lack of accountability amongst senior officials.
The state of Ghanaian football is a direct effect of their arrogance and corruption - if this issue isn’t changed then nothing else can therefore be fixed. When do they look at themselves and realise that they are in fact the problem? Perhaps they know they are but don’t care - I truly worry for the future of football in the country if this is the case but the optimist in me hopes it isn’t. However, this isn’t to say that there aren’t other issues which are a direct cause of what we are seeing in the Ghanaian national team at present.
Yesterday’s game still reigns supreme
Ghana have been playing catch up for years without even knowing. All the way through their mis-mash of a youth set up, their approach regarding developing players and overall cultural identity is fundamentally backwards. Ghana are a football team who pride themselves on their intensity and energy, there’s obviously nothing wrong with that. However, it needs to be for a reason - when they play, it often looks as if Ghana are just sprinting around aimlessly with no real cohesion. They run tirelessly but their pressing structure is nothing special and they don’t create an abundance of chances. If anything, this focus on intensity is a detriment to the team’s performances because the Black Stars finish games so poorly. Earlier this year with Houhgton reinstalled as manager, Ghana conceded a last-minute winner to Cape Verde, let a lead slip against Egypt and then conceded 2 goals in injury time to Mozambique during AFCON games.
I’m not claiming to be an expert, but it’s common sense. If a team is running too much with little to know cohesion amongst them, they’ll get tired, quickly. This means past the 60th minute they’re running on fumes and it becomes easier for opponents to pick them apart, hence why we see such a capitulation in the last few minutes of games.
Every decent manager will tell you that you can’t win anything with an unfit team. In fact, the best football teams tend to always be the fittest but it’s not just because they can outrun everyone else, there’s a balance that needs to be struck between physicality and technicality to enable you to out-class your competitors consistently. Ghana haven’t been able to find this balance for the last 20 years and it looks like they’re in no rush to.
Tactically there’s much room for improvement for the 4-time AFCON winners. Whilst other major nations have welcomed and utilised the growth data and sports-science within the sport, Ghana are still late to the party. Ghana are one of the only national teams who still aren’t using the revolutionary data analysis tool OPTA, which has served as a cornerstone for statistical analysis for clubs and countries to build their tactical approach on.There seems to desire for coaches or directors to incorporate a more data-driven approach into tactics and philosophy. The route one, physically brutal days of the Premier League are long gone and have since been replaced by more intricate, complicated and mentally demanding philosophies inspired by the likes of Wenger, Pep and other European managers. When Ghana plays, there is no evidence of rehearsed build-up or patterns of play - it’s a free-for-all when they step out onto the pitch, nobody looks quite like they know what they’re meant to be doing and that doesn’t just stem from tactical directions from the manager. It’s a direct result of the GFA failing to be proactive in terms of adapting their footballing culture towards a newer game. Football is always changing and evolving and if you don’t keep up you’ll drown - the Ghanaian national team have proved this.
There is no need for Ghana to completely change their footballing culture and identity to one more reminiscent of the European game - that’s not my point. You cannot ignore where the game has gone in the last 15 years and where it will continue to go. These new methods and ideas need to be used in order to develop and improve on the infrastructure that’s already there.
Where’s the youth gone?
The Ghana U20’s have failed to qualify for two of the last four AFCON tournaments whilst Ghana’s U17’s have only managed to feature in the U17 World Cup once in the last 15 years. They have consistently produced some of Africa’s most memorable and celebrated players - but are now struggling to produce youth talent that is remotely even competitive. A country with the rich history and depth of raw talent that Ghana has, should not ever be missing out on the world’s biggest youth tournaments and yet recently it’s become the norm.
The main reason for this is investment, or lack thereof. In aims to try and keep the men’s team competitive over the last two decades, a lot of money has been spent on training resources and the like - but only for the senior team. In this time, the youth teams have seen barely a drop of investment spent on improving their own facilities. Many youth football clubs in Ghana (often referred to as Colt football clubs) don’t have the money to spend on ‘luxury’ pitches and equipment such as rebounders, pop up goals and agility equipment with many games often being played with no goalies and bricks being used as goalposts. The academy system itself in Ghana is in shambles. It’s completely disorganised with 8 year olds regularly competing with and against kids up to 5 years older than them in colts games. This makes it almost impossible for players to develop properly with there being a disregard for perfecting the basic football skills of decision-making, passing and ball-control.
There’s a huge problem within modern-day football. A lot of players from underdeveloped countries will lie about their age in hopes it brings them more opportunities. The issue is rife throughout Africa and creates ripple effects which range from having large global impacts to local trade-offs. Young, legitimate players often find their pathway towards a footballing career being blocked by players who aren’t being exactly truthful about their age and dreams and aspirations gradually fade as a result. More work must be done by the GFA to make sure records are legitimate otherwise larger-scale impacts might soon come into play, such as potential disqualification from youth competitions and fines.
Stepping away from the monetary side of things, the lack of tactical improvement in Ghana has also affected the youth quality. Due to Ghana’s physical and intense playstyle, there is a lot of emphasis on physical attributes in the youth set-ups. Coaches prefer players who are able to outrun and outmuscle opponents rather than the players who are technically superior and flourish instead due to their creativity and skill. The creative aspect of these players is slowly etched out of their game by coaches who see it as inefficient and a waste of time and potential is lost. This won’t change until the culture of Ghanaian football itself is altered and becomes more modernised.
With all these reasons for the decline of Ghanaian youth football. It’s not surprising that most of Ghana’s best talents are often eager to leave for Europe when they turn 16 in hopes of finding better coaching, resources and opportunities elsewhere. This in turn massively reduces the quality of Ghana’s domestic leagues who have barely been graced with the appearances of any of the Black Star’s biggest current day players - with Mo Kudus being the only exception. It’s not just one issue that has to be fixed in order to see Ghana’s youth football begin to thrive again. It’s a whole host of problems which are deeply rooted in the country’s culture which need to be addressed if anything’s going to change.
An unhappy camp - the direct fallout
In 2025, Ghana’s lack of investment into football made them the laughing stock of Africa after a grand total of 0 of their stadiums were approved to be suitable enough to play in by the African federation. Peeling paint, unsafe seating and water damage have deemed most of the national stadiums unplayable and if that doesn’t sum up what is going on right now, then I don’t know what will.
So now, can you blame Ghanaian internationals for not wanting to play for their country? Out of Antoine Semenyo, Mohammed Kudus, the Ayew brothers, Thomas Partey, Inaki Williams and Tariq Lamptey - only Jordan Ayew has been called up to the national team for their exhibition tournament, ‘the Unity Cup’ - which will played over the next week. Compare that to the Nigeria squad for the same tournament and stars such as Wilfred Ndidi, Frank Onyeka, Nathan Tella, Moses Simon and Sam Chukwueze are all expected to feature.
A damning picture. Key players often pull out of squads due to ‘injury’, only to start the next game for their club and perform like they’re 100% fit. When your best players aren’t jumping at the chance to play for their country then realistically what hope do you have? The atmosphere surrounding the Ghanaian national team is worryingly hostile and negative and although in their last two fixtures - most of Ghana’s best players did in fact play, it marked a rare occasion where this happened. This should be the standard every international break and yet it isn’t. Representing your country is the highest honour the sport has to offer but some may see it as a chore and yet if you put yourselves in their position, you’d be forgiven for acting the same.
Ghana players have had to deal with horrible training facilities due to a lack of funding - which only increases the chances of injury; they’ve had to manage seeing their former manager Chris Houghton get threatened by fans after a dismal run of games and they’ve had to change their stadium only 24 hours in advance because they feared for their safety. Add to that, the woeful football and shocking results that have been prominent in the last 2 years and you can see a bit clearly why some aren’t up for it.
If Ghana want to move forward, they’re going to have to get their most talented players back on board and get them motivated. That’s step 1. Whatever’s next should follow in pursuit but it’s absolutely pivotal that young fans see themselves being represented by the best players possible because you can not quantify the inspiration and hope it gives that next generation. That’s the thing, it’s not just about preserving Ghanaian football now - it’s acting swiftly to ensure that the future of the Black Stars survives - and more importantly, thrives.
So, what needs to be done?
I’ve mentioned it a few times but Ghanaian football needs investment. Wherever that comes from is besides the point but money needs to be pumped into the sport so that training facilities and stadiums can finally improve to a level which matches the love and commitment the people of Ghana have for football. Investment into youth football must also also be prioritised in order to get the young Black Stars out of this decade-long rut.
Away from the money, the culture of Ghanaian must be modernised. There’s an Akan proverb which goes ‘when the drumbeat changes, so must the dance.’ Football’s changed and so you can’t continue to do the things which once brought you success in hopes that this trend will continue. Get with the times. Strive to evolve tactically whilst platforming the most skilled and technical players that your country produces. You can’t just sit there and hope you save face by having a golden generation spawn from nowhere to lead you to success. Golden generations don’t just happen through sheer luck. Let's look at Morocco for a second who were in a similar boat to Ghana now, after not qualifying for the 2014 World Cup and being ranked 74th in the world. Then the richest man in Morocco, Mohammed VI - was asked by the Moroccan football federation to personally fund their development. The rest is history as Mohammed VI swiftly set up some of the most impressive and extravagant football academies in Africa. From these academies, rose most of Morocco’s 2022 World Cup players which saw them make it to the semi-finals of the competition.
Now, this might be partially unfair because not every country has a billionaire waiting in the wings to splurge countless amounts of cash in order to develop and improve an entire sport. But, it demonstrates that time, money and effort will lead you towards long-term success if you have the right ideas at heart. Football is a complicated sport but at its rawest I think it's pretty simple. In Ghana you have millions of kids obsessed with football where many will be blessed with the quality to potentially have a future in it. Empower these kids, give them as much of a chance as possible to succeed and bring glory to the country. Whether it’s through partnerships with more European clubs, or fixing grassroots football - give them more opportunities. The talent is there, let it be realised.
But what is this if there’s no accountability? Someone needs to stand up and say enough is enough. I’m gonna be the one to fix this and take the time to ensure my nation blossoms in the future. This downward spiral will continue for as long as it takes until one person, or a group of people finally realise that changes need to be made, from the bottom to the top. The GFA need to have a long, hard look and ask themselves if they actually want to see their nation back to the top of African football or if they’re only intrinsically motivated by their greed and power. If it’s the former then they need to buck up their ideas: Cultural shift, develop the youth more effectively and bring some pride back to your country.
Eleven if you have no Moroccan miracle, it shouldn’t be enough of a reason to disregard the progression of football in your country. It will be a collective effort and it will be difficult, but Ghana should be at the top of African football - not floundering around at the bottom. It can be done if those making the big decisions want it to be done.
The love will always be there, and so will the talent. The only things missing are the vision and the leadership - let that resurface and sky is truly the limit.
