2014 World Cup: 'Weak' Kwasi Appiah could have been stronger - Afriyie Ankrah

Elvis Afriyie Ankrah, the former Minister of Youth and Sports has suggested that coach Kwasi Appiah lacked the courage and audacity to deal with the Black Stars players during the 2014 World Cup. Afriyie Ankrah says that coach Kwasi Appiah ‘showed weakness’ and was not able to whip the players in line. Contributing to a discussion on whether the Black Stars should be handled by a local coach or expatriate, Elvis Afriyie Ankrah said that the focus of the argument should not be about the race or nationality of the coach. He noted all that is needed is a coach with the courage and boldness to deal with the egos in the Black Stars dressing room. “It’s not about Black or White Coach, it’s about capacity. I think Coach Kwesi Appiah with the Black Stars at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil was decent, but he showed some weakness. I kept on saying that he needed to be a bit stronger with the squad,” he told Class FM. Ghana’s participation in the 2018 World Cup was fraught with challenges that resulted in a global disgrace in Brazil. On the field, Kwasi Appiah lost control of the dressing room and had to sack two players from camp for insubordination. Michael Essien and Kevin Prince Boateng left the team’s camp before Ghana’s last game against Portugal. Off the field, monetary issues dominated the headlines as Sulley Muntari allegedly attacked a member of the management committee of the team. The sight of a plane flying money and John Boye and his colleague kissing $100,000 worth of bundled cash is one that Ghanaians would not forget.