I wouldn’t have appointed Akonnor as Black Stars Coach - Former Sports Minister

Former Sports Minister Nii Lante Vanderpuiye says he wouldn’t have appointed Charles Kwablan Akonnor as Black Stars Head Coach, if he was Ghana Football Association president, Kurt E.S. Okraku.

Former Black Stars captain, Akonnor was appointed by the Kurt Okraku-led FA early this year as replacement for James Kwasi Appiah, whose contract expired.

His appointment has received massive support from former Black Stars colleagues and a section of the football fraternity.

However, there are some who have cast doubt over the genuineness of the process that led to Akonnor’s selection as Coach of the Senior National Football team and claim that he only got the job due to his relationship with the FA President.

Nii Lante Vanderpuiye says Akonnor’s appointment gives credence to such claims.

He told Joy Sports, “Left to me alone, I think Kurt shouldn’t have made that appointment”.

“People have said that he manages C.K. Akonnor as a person. So it is wrong, it smacks of conflict of interest to have made CK Akonnor the coach of the national team.

“To some extent I would tend with agree with those people. I have no problem with Kurt deciding who should be the coach and I have no problem with Akonnor being the coach in the first place.

“But for the perception and the whole idea that he is on the books of Kurt as manager, its smacks of conflict (of interest.),” the former Sports Minister concluded.