Questions Of Concern

One very disconcerting thing in life is to have ones good intentions second guessed, ill perceived or criticized. However, especially in sports good intentions are relative, and with an organization as the Ghana Football Association (GFA) which has a penchant for shrouding everything in secrecy the onus even becomes more magnified in the wake of recent happenings, and as such imperative that information is well communicated and clarified so as not to heighten any suspicions or have their integrity questioned. A lot has transpired since AFCON 2012 which begs for more questions than answers, and it is my hope that some, if not all, of these questions will be answered in their (GFA’s) press releases, interviews or discussions in the coming weeks so as to allay our fears and illuminate our understanding of where we’re headed because we’ve been groping in the dark for far too long. Here are some of the questions methink Ghanaians all across the globe will like to have explained or clarified to us:

1. What is the policy statement of the GFA regarding the selection of a coach for the senior national team the Black Stars (BS)? Was Goran Stevanovic fired just to appease the majority of soccer fans or there’s a shift in the paradigm by deciding to go local? If the latter, then what is the long term strategy being adopted to produce more capable and qualified local coaches to handle the Black Stars should say, God forbid, Akwasi Appiah fail in the discharge of his duties? There should be a long term pragmatic strategy in place to ensure continuity and direction of purpose because the “ma try ma kw3” (try and error) strategy of the past is no longer awash with this present generation of soccer lovers.



2. I have also heard this phrase being bandied about a lot the past few days especially by Kwesi Nyantakyi that “Akwasi Appiah should be given the full support to succeed”, and wondering what exactly that is supposed to mean. Unless there’s something that we do not know as far as am concerned all the immediate past BS coaches were given the necessary support to succeed. Are we then being told to be overly magnanimous with Akwasi Appiah in the face of obstacles and challenges? Sometimes I shudder to understand the Ghanaian way of thinking for if we’re clamoring for the same benefits and rights for the local coaches why should we grant them more leeway in their appraisal. Can anyone tell us how and why this makes sense?



3. Is there any performance clause enshrined in Akwasi Appiah’s contract, and if so what’s acceptable and what’s not? What parameters are we looking at in terms of achievements? Will equaling the feats of his predecessors suffice? Just read on Ghanaweb that the GFA has tasked Akwasi Appiah with the target of winning AFCON 2013 and reaching the semi-finals of World Cup 2014. Wow!!! How do we reconcile such lofty targets with Kwesi Nyantakyi’s statement on Tuesday April 10 that “We’ll very soon announce a training programme which will include acquiring skills in management and boosting his confidence, including taking him to some of the big clubs abroad for attachment”? Unless am reading too much into the above statement the statement to me presupposes confidence deficiency and a lack of a fully capable managerial skill. So how plausible is such a target for someone who is lacking such relevant credentials and has only 6 weeks to the beginning of his first major assignment?



4. Was Akwasi Appiah an afterthought because other candidates weren’t forthcoming or the GFA believes he’s the best capable local coach? I’m asking this question because once again it was reported on Ghanaweb on March 25th that Kwesi Nyantakyi stated categorically that the only criteria for the head hunting exercise was COMPETENCE. Can someone who requires a confidence booster and enhanced training in managerial skills be considered competent in the true sense of the word? Just asking!!!



5. Is Akwasi Appiah going to have the wherewithal to coach without interference and also will he have the right to bring along his own assistants or the GFA will “recommend” (the Ghanaian term for impose) assistants on him? As was reported with Marcel Desailly if Akwasi Appiah chooses the former will he also be asked to pay the remuneration of his assistants or the GFA will be magnanimous to foot that bill as part of its ‘support’ mantra?



6. There’s practically not much time between now and AFCON and World Cup qualifiers and the tournaments so when is this supposed managerial and confidence boosting exercise supposed to take place? Honestly I don’t see how any such meaningful training can be arranged between now and these competitions so what is the short term measure the GFA is adopting to overcome this supposed deficiency on the part of the coach, or what is he Akwasi Appiah himself doing about it?



7. Last but not the least, some of us have been labeled as suffering from “inferiority complex” because we propose that a position should only be occupied by the best qualified and competent candidates irrespective of skin pigmentation. The GFA has heeded the clarion call of the masses by appointing a Ghanaian (one of our own) because the black man is well and capable of handling his own. By the GFA’s proposal to send Akwasi Appiah abroad for attachment I presume he’s going to imbibe soccer knowledge, acquire skills and generate the needed confidence by understudying his white colleagues. Therefore by this suggestion aren’t we shooting ourselves in the foot by saying we can handle our own affairs but still need the white man for fine tuning? Surely doesn’t sound like TOTAL INDEPENDENCE to me so let’s not cut our faces to spite our noses.

All said we have decided to walk this road, and Akwasi you now have the expectations of 24 million or so Ghanaians pinned on your small back. You also stand in a make or break position to vindicate all those who support local coaches or forever shut the door on that chapter. As a friend (through Ebo Mends & Prince Yaw Owusu) I wish you well, and my only advice is to stay resolute in your convictions, have the heart and commitment to learn and grow, be strong in the face of criticism (because you know you cannot escape that in Ghana) and put your best foot forward always.



Wish you all the best and long live Ghana Soccer.



Carl Owusu-Barnes

Roscoli1@yahoo.com

Maryland, USA.