I don’t see a captain leading the team - Stephen Appiah critiques Black Stars’ leadership

Former Black Stars captain, Stephen Appiah, has expressed his disappointment with the current leadership of the Black Stars team.

According to Stephen Appiah, the team has been without an effective leader for the past five years.

Speaking at a Parliamentary Select Committee on Sports sitting, Stephen Appiah highlighted that one of the main issues with the Black Stars is the leadership group’s inability to inspire their teammates.

Reflecting on his tenure as captain, the former Juventus midfielder mentioned that despite Michael Essien being one of the world’s top midfielders at the time, he never hesitated to reprimand him when necessary.

Stephen Appiah believes that such leadership, where players are held accountable for their actions on the field, has been missing from the national team for the past five years, contributing significantly to their poor performances during this period.

As a leader, you must lead. Some decisions may not be popular among the players, but they need to be made. I don’t see a captain leading the team now, and when you leave things like that, the players will think they can do whatever they want on the pitch.

“During our time, with players like Michael Essien, we sometimes fought on the pitch. We argued and exchanged words, but it never affected our ultimate goal,” Appiah said.

However, Appiah also believes that the players must take responsibility for their actions. He noted that commitment and patriotism are lacking in the current team, as many players do not appreciate the honour of playing for their country.

“I must say it is not only the captain. Players who join the national team must be committed. I do not see commitment. To be selected from a population of over 33 million, you must see it as an honour. They must understand that they are representing Ghana,” he said.

Parliament, through its committee on youth and sports, is investigating the circumstances that led to Ghana’s poor performance at the 2023 AFCON. In the three matches played at the tournament, Ghana did not win any, drawing two and losing one, resulting in their exit at the group stage. Ghana drew with Mozambique and Egypt and lost to Cape Verde.

Black Stars recent recent AFCON 2025 Qualifiers performance

The Black Stars of Ghana have had a challenging start to their AFCON 2025 qualifiers, failing to secure a win in their first two matches. They suffered a disappointing 1-0 defeat to Angola at home. This was followed by a 1-1 draw against Niger, leaving them with just one point from a possible six. The team has struggled with defensive issues, conceding goals in crucial moments, and now finds itself in a tough position in the group standings with pressure mounting on the team to turn things around in their upcoming matches to keep their qualification hopes alive.

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