Former Sports Minister Mahama Ayariga has expressed his confidence in the ability of a good coach to withstand the pressure to manipulate player selections by officials of the Ghana Football Association.
It has been widely perceived that officials of the Ghana FA have been imposing players on coaches, a fact which was publicly admitted by former Ghana coach CK Akonnor.
Speaking to GhanaWeb in Parliament, Mahama Ayariga emphasized that FA officials can only make recommendations.
“If you have a coach worth his salt, nobody in the FA will be able to influence him as to his choice of players. You’ll only make your recommendations, he’ll access them and sometimes your recommendations make sense, he’ll accept them and if they don’t make sense he’ll reject them. There’s nothing you can do about it because he’s a coach worth his salt,” he said.
The Black Stars are currently in search of a new coach following the dismissal of head coach Chris Hughton after Ghana’s disappointing performance at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations. Ayariga’s comments come at a critical time when the football association is under scrutiny and in need of a strong and independent coach to lead the team.
