Hundreds of football fans took to the streets of Accra, the capital of Ghana, on Wednesday, demanding better management of football affairs after their national team failed to progress past the group stage of the African Cup of Nations held in Ivory Coast, which concluded last Sunday.
The demonstrators marched through the city’s main streets wearing black and red shirts bearing the slogan “Save Ghana Football” and carried banners displaying their frustration with the underwhelming performance of the team, known as the “Black Stars,” in recent major tournaments.
#SaveGhanaFootball demo: “Fix Ghana football” – Ghanaians to GFA, Sports Ministry
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— Citi Sports (@CitiSportsGHA) February 14, 2024
The Ghana Football Association sacked coach Chris Hughton last month after the team finished third in Group B of the AFCON, garnering only two points from three matches.
Hughton, whose father hailed from Ghana, took charge of the team in March last year, winning four out of 13 matches with the team under pressure as they aimed to qualify for the Cup of Nations.
The Ghana Football Association, led by Kurt Okraku, is now searching for the fifth coach for the national team in five years.
Protesters, in a petition submitted to Parliament, stated, “Ghanaian football faces a dark period in its history.
It is an unprecedented moment that has brought global embarrassment to the name that once filled us all with immense pride at home and abroad.”
They called on President Nana Akufo-Addo to launch an investigation into Ghana’s participation in the 2022 World Cup and the 2023 AFCON, following allegations of corruption and lavish spending by the Ghana Football Association during both tournaments.
They also urged the implementation of a national football policy, increased investment in youth sectors, and improvement of the local league.
The petition stated, “The call is clear and it is for us as a nation to seize a unique opportunity for making changes to the current structure governing football to restore the game to its former glory.”
Ghana’s national team has won the African Cup of Nations four times but has not clinched the title since 1982. They have qualified for the World Cup four times as well, reaching the quarter-finals in 2010.
