Ghana football in 2014: Year in review

For reasons good and bad, 2014 would be remembered as quite monumental in Ghana's football annals. Below, we chronicle the events that defined the concluding year.

JANUARY

Ghana feature at the 2014 CHAN under Maxwell Konadu, reaching the finals largely on the back of a solid defensive display.

FEBRUARY

Konadu's local lads lose the CHAN final via penalty shootout to Libya, scoring just four times in five matches contested at the tournament hosted by South Africa.

There was further continental heartbreak for Ghana as, for the second consecutive season, record league champions Asante Kotoko failed to scale the early hurdles of the Caf Champions League, this time eliminated in the very first round by Liberian minnows Barrack Young Controllers over two legs on the away-goal rule.

MARCH

Ghana's $9.6m World Cup budget is endorsed and revealed, after public outrage at initial estimates rumoured to be twice the approved sum.

APRIL

The draw for the 2015 Afcon qualifiers is conducted in Cairo, with Ghana planted in Group E with Guinea, eastern neighbors Togo. Uganda join the pack later after beating Madagascar.

MAY

Kotoko seal a third league title on the trot - their 23rd overall - with two games to spare, making slightly hard work of it in the end; a month later, the Porcupine Warriors wrap up a fine domestic Double with victory in the MTN FA Cup final over Herbert Addo's Inter Allies. Hearts of Lions, Hearts of Oak, and Ashanti Gold claim the other Top Four places, while King Faisal, Ebusua Dwarfs and Amidaus Professionals have their demotions confirmed. With 16 goals, Chelsea's Augustine Okrah picks up the goalking and MVP prizes.

JUNE

Ghana feature but flop massively at the 2014 Fifa World Cup, finishing bottom of Group G. It was much worse, though, what with individual and collective instances of squad revolt as well as an embarrassing episode that saw the Ghanaian government forced to fly $4m to settle 'outstanding' appearance fees.

Two days after the anti-climax against Portugal, Sports ministers Elvis Afriyie-Ankrah and Joseph Yammin are relieved of their duties.

Shortly after the showpiece commenced, too, Ghana FA President Kwesi Nyantakyi has match-fixing allegations slammed against him by the UK's Channel Four and the Daily Telegraph newspaper.

A welcome silver lining that shone through in that murky month, however, was captain Asamoah Gyan's record-breaking feats at the Mundial.

JULY

Kotoko, as winners of both the Premier League and FA Cup, are declared by the Emergency Committee of the GFA [per Article 10(2) of the GFA's General Regulations] as Champions of Champions for the 2013-14 season.

Fifa, on being notified of the Ghanaian government's establishment of a three-man body to investigate the details of Ghana's terrible outing at the World Cup in Brazil, write to the GFA concerning what could be deemed potential government interference in the former's affairs.

AUGUST

Government inaugurates the aforementioned Commission of Inquiry, comprising Justice Senyo Dzamefe (a justice of the Court of Appeal), Moses Foh-Amoaning (a sports administrator), and Kofi Anokye Owusu Darko (a sports enthusiast).

There is good news for the country's neglected footballing heroes of yesteryear when national football authorities hand them a handsome yet long overdue financial package as a token of appreciation for their past Nations Cup-winning exploits.

Ghana's male U20s qualify for next year's World Cup under Sellas Tetteh while their female counterparts, the Black Princesses, enjoy mixed delights on the global stage, failing to sail through their group despite racking up six points in Canada.

Meanwhile, the GFA announces the hunt for a Technical Director for the Black Stars. Former Ghana coach Milovan Rajevac emerges as an early candidate.

SEPTEMBER

Ghana's first international after the World Cup, the opening Afcon 2015 encounter in Kumasi, ends in a dour 1-1 draw with Uganda, and the reception from the local fans isn't too pleasant, prompting a subsequent [temporary?] relocation of the Stars' home games to Tamale.

Ghana head coach Kwesi Appiah suffers a surprise exit, just as he appeared to be picking up the pieces from his team's poor adventures in Brazil. A perceived loss of control of the dressing room as well as Appiah's apparent refusal to accept the FA's recommendation of a Technical Director are cited as reasons for his departure.

FA boss Nyantakyi appears before the Commission of Inquiry after speculation suggested that the 46-year-old and the FA he leads, under Fifa's shield of 'autonomy', never might. He emerges largely unscathed, and the month provides more good cheer for the Wa-born when he is cleared by the FA's Ethics Committee of June's match-fixing charges.

The Ghalca Top Four climaxes somewhat bizarrely, with Ashgold eventually being crowned champions.

King Faisal, aggrieved by certain factors that might have contributed to their relegation, file a court case which bars the GFA from ushering in the new season.

OCTOBER

Caf bans Ghana's U-17s for age-cheating offences committed during qualifiers against Cameroon for 2015's African Championship, with an appeal from the GFA proving futile.

On a second successive occasion, Ghana's Black Queens underperform enough at the African Women's Championship (hosted by Namibia) not to earn a ticket to the Fifa Women's World Cup.

Arguably the biggest domestic fixture of the year - the first of two off-season matches between giants Kotoko and Hearts - draws an impressive $43000 in gate proceeds.

NOVEMBER

Ghana qualify for Afcon 2015, sealing top spot in Group E with a 3-1 triumph over Togo in Tamale. Days later, Israeli Avram Grant is finally unveiled as the Black Stars' new coach.

DECEMBER

The 2015 Afcon draw locks Ghana up in tough Group C with fellow giants Senegal, South Africa, and Algeria.

To fill the void of inactivity created by the league's delayed start, the GFA introduces a new event on the national football calendar, the Elite Cup Competition.

The Accra Human Rights Court throws out relegated King Faisal's application for an injunction, clearing the path for the GFA Congress and, by extension, the uncommenced league (scheduled for December 30, 2014, and January 18, 2015 respectively). Should Faisal win the substantive case, though, they could yet find a place in the top-flight.

Ghana’s 31-man provisional squad for next year's Afcon is released.