When the genial and unassuming Kwesi Appiah was appointed head coach of the national soccer team fairly recently, many Ghanaians berated the Nyantakyi-superintended Ghana Football Association (GFA) for making a monumentally undesirable decision. In fact, the name-calling got so ugly, some of us wondered if the “White is better” syndrome had permanently distorted Ghanaians’ collective judgment, even if the evidence pointed to better performances by Ghanaian coaches in important competitions across the African continent and beyond. It is a well-known fact that, of the four continental trophies that bedeck the halls of the GFA, none was the work of foreign-born coaches. In other words, native-born, dark-skinned coaches were in charge when the Black Stars won continental trophies in 1963, 1965, 1978, and 1982.

That Ghanaians would despise Kwesi Appiah’s appointment as head coach of the Black Stars was as disappointing as it was appalling. That Kwesi Appiah was called the ugliest of names for losing a few matches – by the way, no coach can ever expect to win 100% of the matches he oversees – was as self-defeating as it was demoralizing for the coach. Indeed, I felt a sense of shame after reading on pro-Ghana(ian) Internet portals the miscellany of abuses and vituperations hurled at the friendly Kwesi Appiah. Did Ghanaians misplace their sense of patriotism? Could we not be proud of one of our own?

Sadly, Kwesi Appiah’s lack of initial success would bring out the naysayers, who argued that the overseas-based players, because of the large salaries they earned playing for top European clubs, were unlikely to both respect and support a native-born coach! Indeed, what these naysayers meant was that Ghanaian players – and, by extension, Ghanaians – were so undisciplined, only a light-skinned, straight-haired man with an aquiline nose could command the players’ respect! For a moment, I felt sorry for my country of birth and fellow citizens! Without a doubt, Kwame Nkrumah would have been disappointed during that early period of Kwesi Appiah’s appointment as national team coach.

Today, hypocritical Ghanaians are hailing a successful Kwesi Appiah as an innovator! We are, arguably, the world’s most anointed hypocrites! The most distressing part of this story is that, even before Kwesi Appiah got the chance to show the world that he was just as capable as any other man to manage the national soccer team, so-called pundits had declared him incapable of handling such a huge assignment. Oh, yes, we had forgotten that Kwesi Appiah had led Kumasi Asante Kotoko to the finals of the 1982 African Clubs Championship, only to lose to a slightly better El-Ahly team from Egypt. The following year, however, a Kwesi Appiah-led Asante Kotoko would hoist the same trophy before teeming fans at the Kumasi Sports Stadium! We had forgotten that Kwesi Appiah had deservingly been captain of the senior national team for a few years, until conspirators took the honor away from him and gave it to an egotistic Abedi Pele. Certainly, the way some Ghanaians reacted to Kwesi Appiah’s appointment as national team coach characterizes the statement that a prophet is without honor in his own country.

Kwesi Appiah’s recent success is as glaring as the noonday sun. In other words, it takes time to build a good team, and Kwesi Appiah has shown that, if given enough time, a Ghanaian coach can do much better than those mediocre coaches the GFA has continually brought from the boondocks of Eastern Europe to manage the Black Stars. I call on the GFA to keep Kwesi Appiah at the helm of the national soccer team for several years, whether or not he is able to take the team to Brazil 2014, for our penchant for dismissing coaches before they are able to build formidable, winning teams has been counterproductive. In the meantime, I urge Kwesi Appiah not to allow the fake praises of fellow Ghanaians to get to his head; after all, these same Ghanaians would unapologetically call for his head were he to lose the next match. Ungrateful Ghanaians, if you ask me!

Daniel K. Pryce

Doctoral Student George Mason University