Focus on youth development – Akonnor tells GFA

Former Black Stars coach CK Akonnor has shared his thoughts on the decline in the performance of the Black Stars and how to revive the team.

This comes after the recent poor performances of the four-time AFCON winners in their doubleheader against Sudan, which has significantly hurt their chances of qualifying for the 2025 AFCON in Morocco.

According to the former Kotoko coach, the Ghana Football Association's (GFA) lack of investment in youth development has had a significant impact on the senior national team.

In an interview with BBC Africa, he called for the introduction of youth development programs, stressing that the heavy focus on the Black Stars has undermined the performance of the country's other national teams.

“I think we focus on the Black Stars too much. We have left our youth development behind. We have the potential to be better, and we need to do something drastic with all urgency,” he told BBC Africa.

In September 2019, Akonnor was shortlisted for the Guinea national team head coach role but lost out to Didier Six. He was appointed as assistant coach of the Ghana national team in October 2019, but his tenure was cut short in January 2020 when the Ghana Football Association dissolved its technical teams. Shortly after, on 15 January 2020, he was named head coach of Ghana, with David Duncan as his assistant.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Akonnor called up 32 locally based players for AFCON qualifiers. However, in September 2021, he and his assistants were dismissed following a disappointing World Cup qualifying campaign.

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