Sports writers demand overhaul of Ghana football after Black Stars lose first two qualifiers

Pinned summary · as of 06:31

The Sports Writers Association of Ghana (SWAG) has called for sweeping changes in how the country's football is run, after the Black Stars lost to both Côte d'Ivoire and The Gambia in their opening 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers. It told those running the Ghana Football Association (GFA) to act firmly on the slide of the national sides. The two losses leave Ghana without a point in Group C.

What we know

• SWAG called for far-reaching reform of Ghana football management and pressed the GFA's leaders to act firmly to halt the national sides' decline, according to NorvanReports and Pulse Ghana.
• Ghana were beaten 2-0 away in Bouaké by Côte d'Ivoire, then went down 4-2 in a home game with The Gambia, so the Black Stars have no points from their first two Group C matches.
• SWAG cited Ghana's absence from the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations as a sign that the trouble goes beyond the current senior team, and said the junior national teams are not progressing.
• In SWAG's view, changing the coach again will not fix the problem, and the recent setbacks call for fundamental reform instead of cosmetic fixes.
• SWAG wants appointments to the national teams to rest on competence and proven performance, and wants clear accountability within GFA management.
• The association also wants the domestic league reshaped so that it develops local talent and gives young players a clearer route to the senior national side.

What's disputed / unconfirmed

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  NorvanReports reported that the GFA and coach Carlos Queiroz agreed by mutual consent to end his contract on the day of the SWAG statement. The report said he won one of his seven matches in charge and that Ghana lost four of them. Pulse Ghana, by contrast, wrote only of the possible departure of Queiroz, which it said SWAG counted as one more in a series of seven coaching changes made since 2019.
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  Queiroz said, according to NorvanReports, that parting ways was a hard decision, but that both parties judged it best for Ghanaian football.
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  NorvanReports reported that SWAG wants the running of the national teams given to an independent Public Interest Committee should the GFA leadership fail to deliver the reforms it is asking for. MyJoyOnline carried the same demand.
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  Pulse Ghana reported that SWAG urged government to tighten its oversight of the national teams, pointing to the public money involved.
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  NorvanReports said Ghana led The Gambia by two goals before losing, and noted that GFA President Kurt Okraku has headed the association since 2019 and won re-election in 2023, with his administration pointing to spending on youth development, women's football and infrastructure.
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  Pulse Ghana reported that the results leave the Black Stars at the foot of Group C, and that missing the 2025 tournament ended a two-decade run of consecutive appearances; MyJoyOnline described the absence as the first in 24 years.
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  NorvanReports said the Black Stars are expected to face Somalia in November in the qualifying campaign.

Why it matters for Ghana

The national team is a focus of daily conversation for football fans across Ghana, and the coaching situation so early in qualifying raises questions about preparations for the November fixtures. The sports writers' demands add to public pressure on the football association over how the game is run, from youth development to domestic leagues. Whether government takes a closer interest in the teams, which are publicly funded, would also matter to taxpayers.