Chris Hughton, the head coach of the Black Stars has said that his primary focus currently is leading the team to navigate the two FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Madagascar and Comoros on November 17 and November 20, 2023, respectively.

Chris Hughton told the BBC that while the appeal of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations is huge, it is important for him as a coach not to lose focus on the immediate task which is the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.

Chris Hughton conceded albeit implicitly that the performances of the Black Stars have not been ideal but he is determined to turn their fortunes around through hard work and commitment.

He assured of his resolve to return the Black Stars to its lofty standard through consistent performances and results.

“My role as a coach of the Black Stars is to get the best results and best performance from the team. You can’t always get but what you can always do is to learn from your previous experience whether it's good or bad.

“Ultimately, I will work as hard as I always do to try to get things the best way we can. It’s wonderful and great to want to talk about the AFCON but sometimes for coaches, it’s difficult because we have two important World Cup qualification games before the tournament.

“If your concentration is too far off that then you can take your eye off what is at this moment the most important thing. The most important thing at this moment is the two World Cup qualification games,” he said.

Chris Hughton’s interview with BBC arrives at a time when wide rumours have travelled in the Ghanaian media space that the Ghana Football Association is planning on dismissing him.

Reports from Asaase Radio on Thursday, November 9, 2023, claimed that on the FA’s side, a decision has been taken to kick out Chris Hughton.

The stumbling block however was the government which, per the report are aversed to the plans of the FA and want Chris Hughton to lead the team to the 2023 AFCON.

Amid the widespread reports, the President of the Ghana Football Association, Kurt Okraku has issued a social media criticism of the Ghanaian media for allegedly dabbling in falsehood circulation.

The Facebook post made on Thursday, November 9, 2023, did not provide clarification to the widely speculated rumours but rather attacked the media.

The post on Kurt Okraku’s Facebook page reads “Lies are becoming the order of the day in our media space!!!!”.

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