The Communications Director of the Ghana Football Association (GFA), Henry Asante Twum, has explained that differences in the international football windows for men and women played a role in the decision to appoint Kim Lars Björkegren as Black Stars interim head coach.

The GFA announced that Swedish tactician Kim Lars Björkegren could be tasked with leading Ghana in their crucial November double-header against Somalia, with Black Stars assistant coach Godwin Attram and Ibrahim Tanko expected to assist him.

The move comes at a critical moment for Ghana, who have suffered consecutive defeats in their opening Group C matches and are desperate to get their 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualification campaign back on track.

Why Kim Lars was chosen to lead the Black Stars over local coaches

Responding to criticism over the possibility of Kim Lars doubling up on his coaching duties, Asante Twum noted that the men's international window runs from November 9 to 17, 2026, during which two official matches are scheduled.

However, the women's international window runs from November 24 to December 5, 2026, giving the coach time to prepare for the Black Queens' FIFA Women's World Cup qualifiers.

“So the Black Stars and the Black Meteors play around the same time. The Black Meteors will also be engaged in the U23 AFCON qualifiers. The Black Stars will be engaged in the 2027 AFCON qualifiers, and the Black Queens will be engaged in the World Cup qualifiers. But these are at different time intervals.

“The Black Stars and Black Meteors' games are from the early part of November to the middle part. The Black Queens' games are from the end of November to the first week in December. So he has that luxury. The women's international window is completely different from the men's international window. Whilst the women are playing, the men are on break. And then when the men resume, the women also, you know, have their turn,” he said in an interview with TV3.

Asante Twum expressed optimism that Kim Lars would perform well, citing his experience in managing national teams, and urged Ghanaians to support him.

“So he loves the challenge. At least I spent the day with him. I know he's ready to take up this challenge. He also feels that it's time to test himself. Is he ready? You know, he's been there before, but in a different capacity. Remember when we were during the build-up to the World Cup, he was one of the assistant coaches for Otto and played two matches against Austria and Germany.

“Unfortunately, that technical team got disbanded following the dismissal of Otto. So it's a challenge he is ready to take, and he needs the support of all of us to at least play those two matches and then go back to his role as head coach of the Black Queens,” he said.

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"So, he has that luxury. The women's international window is completely different from the men's international window. While the women are playing, the men are on a break, and when the men resume, the women also have their turn."

- GFA Communications Director on Kim Lars Björkegren having to coach both the Black Stars and Queens in crucial games within a short period of time.

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— #3Sports (@3SportsGh) October 19, 2026