Ghana’s most recent stalemate to make the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in 2025 has been an enervating event for the football world. The Black Stars - an old continental darling - are wondering why everything went wrong as they have taken just three points from six games.
Central to the issue are the Ghana Football Association (GFA) managerial choices and a side that never quite got going. Let’s five in.
A Leadership Problem?
In the words of the former international player Augustine Ahinful, much of Ghana’s misery is down to the GFA’s selection of coaches. The technical team leader Otto Addo is under heavy fire since the campaign ended in a thud. Ahinful’s verdict: Addo and his men are not “bad” players, but better management could have reshaped Ghana’s fortunes.
“Had they [GFA] used the best of coaches, we wouldn’t be here,” Ahinful revealed in an interview. His frustration is not alone among football fans and pundits, who suspect Ghana’s football management failed to get the technical staff.
This is not new to Ghana. These past few years have seen coaching appointments with a prickly air about how much due diligence is put into hiring the right people. For the Black Stars, which has immense pressure each AFCON season, decisions by coaches matter now more than ever.
Otto Addo’s Tactical Missteps
Otto Addo’s gameplan during the qualifying campaign didn’t provide much hope. Ahinful said the side suffered from Addo’s defensive style, especially at home where Ghana had to do a lot of the damage.
“Otto Addo is never unconsciously reactive in his play,” Ahinful said, adding that the need to play with two defensive midfielders at home and away restricted the attacking options for the team. Such a defensive approach was unexpected for a side such as Ghana who had been a big export of attacking players over the years.
In modern football, a strategy can make or break a campaign. On the road, playing defensively in away matches could make sense against a top-tier opponent. But back home, people expect more. Fans want aggression, pace and wins. Rather, the Black Stars were flat and boring, not able to take advantage of home-field advantage when they could.
Lack of Structure and Preparation
Other than the coaching decisions, Ghanaian football requires proper structure. With no foundation, no team (no matter who is on the roster) will produce consistently.
This can be seen by the lacklustre odds for great teams on the top betting app in South Africa at 10Bet - strategy and planning is everything.
Inattention to pre-planning and the long term has been a theme for the Black Stars. Where other African states, such as Morocco and Senegal, developed robust programmes with concrete plans, Ghana is buried in a trough of reactionary moves. It doesn’t take long for coaching to change, new systems come along without much time to learn, and the players get left on the fence.
Success in football doesn’t come overnight. It’s a habit among continental-level teams to work for years to establish a shared identity both on and off the pitch.
Player Performance
We have to talk about Ghana’s players. While the country is brimming with talent - having a mix of veterans as well as some very promising youngsters - the team overall was ill-matched.
Football is a group sport, and no amount of personal genius can compensate for lack of chemistry and harmony. The Black Stars played clunky too often, unable to combine and generate possession. They had a defence that couldn’t cope, and an attack where they didn’t have the firepower to turn chances into goals.
That isn’t to say that the players are all to blame. Bad preparation, bad play, and bad leadership are all factors into the field. But Ghana are going to have to come up with an individual as well as a collective fix in order to make it to the next tournament.
Conclusion
Ghana’s football tradition is long and the Black Stars are still one of the most beloved teams in Africa. But history is no guarantee of success. We have lost the bid to play at AFCON 2025 and all stakeholders should take heed - players, coaches, administrators.
This campaign has not been a great experience, but it’s not all bad news. Teams have tough years; Ghana can get back on their feet. The talent is there and the nation’s football culture is no less alive.
Learning from this misstep will be the trick. The GFA needs to be accountable, smarter, and work on creating a competitive team at the top. That’s not to say that Ghana won’t find its place in Africa again.
As of right now, though, AFCON 2025 is in the rear view mirror. That’s not an easy pill to swallow for a country that is football obsessed. But sometimes it’s only through a failure like this that change can be actual and real.
