Nii Lante Vanderpuye: No Top Coach Can Succeed with Current GFA Structure
Nii Lante Vanderpuye: No Top Coach Can Succeed with Current GFA Structure
- Nii Lante Vanderpuye has expressed strong concerns about the Ghana Football Association's leadership
- Vanderpuye pointed to Ghana's failure to qualify for the 2025 AFCON as a stark example
- He argued that if he were the Sports Minister, he would disband the GFA in response to the team's failure
Former Minister of Youth and Sports, Edwin Nii Lante Vanderpuye, has expressed strong concerns about the Ghana Football Association’s (GFA) leadership, asserting that the current administration’s structure makes it impossible for any manager to succeed as head coach of the Black Stars.
Speaking as the Member of Parliament for Odododiodio constituency, Vanderpuye criticized the GFA’s role in the Black Stars’ recent underperformance, suggesting that the association has unfairly shifted the blame onto others for the team’s poor results.
Vanderpuye pointed to Ghana’s failure to qualify for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) as a stark example of the need for more drastic action.
He argued that if he were the Sports Minister, he would disband the GFA in response to the team’s failure to make it to the tournament.
“If I were the Sports Minister, I would disband the GFA. We are not going to the Africa Cup of Nations,” he stated in an interview with Kessben FM. “FIFA might suspend us for six months, but we would use that period to put things right and build a stronger team for the next AFCON qualifiers.”
Vanderpuye also questioned the tendency to blame coaches when the Black Stars fail, asking why the GFA is allowed to sack coaches without addressing the underlying issues within the system.
He further stressed that even top managers like Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp would struggle to succeed under the current structure. “If you hire Pep Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp, or any top coach and we don’t change the structure, we will still fail,” he stated. “We’ve created a system where one person controls the selection of players, appoints the coach, and manages everything from the ballboys to the team doctor. How can the Black Stars succeed under such circumstances?”
The Black Stars have faced significant challenges in the 2025 AFCON qualification, finishing bottom of their group, which included Angola, Sudan, and Niger, with only three points from their matches.
