MPs Express Concern About Black Stars’ Poor Performance At 2021 AFCON
Some Members of Parliament are calling for deep introspection into the present woes of the national men’s football team, the Black Stars.
The team exhibited the country’s worst performance in the history of African Cup of Nations (AFCON) exiting in the first round of the ongoing 2021 edition of the competition in Cameroon.
It was the first time the Black Stars have exited an AFCON without a single win. The last time Ghana went out at the group stage was in 2006.
Making comments on a statement made on the floor of parliament by Ranking Member on the Youth, Sports and Culture Committee, Kobena Mensah Woyome, MPs provided a number of suggestions to get the Black Stars back on track.
“Even to select and fire, FIFA will come and interfere. Yet, if they are going out, they will ask the government for sponsorship and bonuses. There is also an issue of player discipline. We can’t build a national team where certain players think they are superior and can break camp rules and expect to get results. They won’t get it”, MP for Okaikwei Central, Patrick Boamah said.
Following Black Stars’ abysmal performance, its coach, Milovan Rajevac, has been sacked.
The decision was taken following a meeting between the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the Ghana Football Association
Rajevac, 67, who returned for a second stint with the Black Stars in September 2021, supervised a disappointing AFCON campaign in Cameroon where Ghana picked up just one point from their three group stage games, finishing bottom of Group C.
“The FA has the right to remove that group to account for their stewardship to the people of this country. GHS 25 million was made available in terms of their preparation for both the World Cup and AFCON stage. But we sat down for them to send an ill-prepared team, and they arrived separately and not as a team “, Benson Baba Tongo, the Talensi MP stressed.