Pressure on GFA chief Okraku grows after Ghana's 4-2 home loss to The Gambia

Pinned summary · as of 16:14

Ghana let a two-goal lead slip and lost 4-2 to The Gambia in an Africa Cup of Nations 2027 qualifier at the Accra Sports Stadium on Tuesday, 29 September. With a defeat in Bouaké already behind them, the Black Stars have no points from two Group C games. Calls for Ghana Football Association (GFA) president Kurt Okraku to go have followed.

What we know

• Ghana went ahead 2-0 against The Gambia, then conceded four times and lost the qualifier 4-2 at the Accra Sports Stadium on Tuesday, 29 September.
• Ernest Nuamah and Felix Afena-Gyan scored for Ghana, Nuamah from the penalty spot in the 27th minute and Afena-Gyan with a free kick shortly afterwards.
• The Black Stars opened the group with a defeat in Bouaké, where Côte d'Ivoire won by two goals to nil. Ghana therefore has no points after two matches and is bottom of the table.
• A video shared on social media appears to show an angry supporter confronting Mr Okraku at the stadium soon after the final whistle.
• The result prompted demands for Mr Okraku to resign or be removed from people in politics, media and football administration, among them Seth Panwum, a former chairman of the National Sports Authority board. Pulse Ghana also said some fans at the stadium called for new leadership at the GFA.
• Mr Okraku has led the GFA since 2019. Ghana reached the 2022 and 2026 World Cups in that time but did not qualify for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.
• The Black Stars were without Mohammed Kudus and Antoine Semenyo in this qualifying window, and the two defeats have piled scrutiny on head coach Carlos Queiroz and his squad.
• Ghana had won only one of its previous 11 matches before facing The Gambia.

What's disputed / unconfirmed

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  The accounts of The Gambia's goals do not agree. Pulse Ghana credited Assan Ceesay with a penalty before the break and Omar Colley with three goals, the last in the 92nd minute. Ghanaian News (Canada) named Muhammed Badamosi from the spot, Omar Colley before half-time and Ebrima Colley with the third, while Citi Newsroom said the visitors added two goals after the interval.
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  Pulse Ghana also said fans booed the Ghana players at the final whistle, that Colley's second goal followed a mistake by Gideon Mensah, and that this was The Gambia's first win over Ghana in 33 years. No other report has confirmed these details.
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  YEN.com.gh said the supporter seemed to lunge towards Mr Okraku before people who looked like his entourage stepped in, and noted that details of the encounter were scarce. That version has not been confirmed elsewhere.
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  Isaac Boamah-Nyarko, MP for Effia, told Citi Newsroom that the GFA and the Ministry of Youth and Sports should be dissolved and the sports minister removed, saying "We have to dissolve the GFA." MyJoyOnline carried the same remarks, and the MP said the whole football structure should be rebuilt from grassroots level. Only these two publications have reported this.
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  YEN.com.gh reported that Communications Minister Sam George wanted the Black Stars disbanded and the GFA sacked even at the risk of a FIFA ban, and that Gomoa Central MP Kwame A-Plus demanded the GFA's dissolution. It also said Afia Schwarzenegger alleged that Mr Okraku is motivated only by his own interests, an accusation for which the reports carry no reply from him. Broadcaster Daniel Koranteng urged President John Mahama to remove Mr Okraku and media personality Nana Romeo urged him to resign. None of this has been reported elsewhere.
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  Adom Online reported that King Faisal owner Alhaji Karim Grusah asked Mr Okraku and the Black Stars Management Committee to resign, and wants government intervention if they refuse. Adom Online also said Mr Panwum, speaking as the NPP's sports spokesperson, argued that Ghana's results reflect weak management, preparation and tactics rather than injuries or individual players. These views come from one publication.
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  Ghanaian News (Canada) said lawyer Joseph Okan-Mensah Khartey wrote a Citi Sports opinion piece titled 'Kurt must go', arguing that repeated coaching changes cannot fix deeper structural weaknesses. The publication also noted that no decision to remove Mr Okraku or dissolve the GFA has been announced, and that FIFA rules bar government interference in football associations, with suspension a possible penalty. This has not been confirmed by other reports.
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  Football analyst FM Dzanku, cited by YEN.com.gh, said Ghana won 39.3% of 56 competitive matches under Mr Okraku, averaging 1.46 points a game, and that both figures rank last among seven GFA administrations examined from 1993 to 2026. His figure for Kwesi Nyantakyi's tenure was 56.4% and 1.87 points a game over 101 matches. Only YEN.com.gh has published this analysis.
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  YEN.com.gh said Mr Okraku attributed player withdrawals to injuries or personal reasons and that Mr Queiroz admitted the team faces challenges but denied there is a crisis. Ghanaian News (Canada) instead reported that Mr Queiroz voiced frustration before the match about the atmosphere around the team and spoke of many injured players. These remarks are not confirmed by other reports.
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  SportsWorldGhana said some backers of the current GFA leadership favour reform over a complete reset, and that the association has made progress in youth competitions. It also said critics question the direction of the Black Stars under Mr Okraku. Other reports have not confirmed these points.
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  Adom Online said Ghana's next qualifiers are a double-header against Somalia in Accra in October, while YEN.com.gh said The Gambia beat Somalia 2-1 in its first game and now has six points. Neither claim has been repeated elsewhere.

Why it matters for Ghana

Two defeats without a point leave Ghana little room for error in a group where every remaining game now counts, and fans in Accra, Kumasi and elsewhere are again asking who should be accountable for the national team. The volume of calls from MPs, broadcasters and former officials shows how quickly a bad result becomes a debate over how football is governed in Ghana. Mr Okraku remains in office and has not been reported to have stepped down, so the response of the association and the technical team will be closely watched.