Sports
Carlos Queiroz: AFCON qualification is absolute priority, but eyes on 2030 World Cup
Black Stars head coach Carlos Queiroz says his immediate focus is securing qualification for the Africa Cup of Nations, while laying the foundation for a bigger dream building a Ghana side capable of honouring the nation’s legacy at the 2030 World Cup.
Speaking to the Ghana Football Association’s official website ahead of the AFCON qualifiers, the Portuguese tactician described the current moment as the start of a new cycle for the national team.
“Hands on the present, eyes on the future. The priority is very clear: absolute focus on AFCON qualification, with our eyes set on the 2030 World Cup,” Queiroz said.
“We have an immediate objective that demands our full concentration, but we also have a greater destination ahead of us. This is the moment to start building the team for 2030.”
The experienced coach, however, cautioned against premature title talk, insisting Ghana must first earn its place at the tournament.
“We must have ambition, but also humility. We know our recent history and we cannot talk about winning AFCON when we have not yet qualified. We have to work, grow, compete and earn our destiny,” he noted.
Queiroz was candid about where Ghana stands compared to Africa’s top sides, admitting that many of the continent’s leading teams have established squads with players featuring regularly in the UEFA Champions League.
“That is the competitive reality we must recognise and the level we must pursue,” he said.
Reflecting on the recent World Cup campaign, Queiroz said the experience was crucial for understanding the character and quality within the squad, adding that he is proud to lead “a fantastic group and a fantastic national-team culture.”
On squad selection, he explained that competitive form and physical readiness remain non-negotiable.
“There is always one general principle that we consider fundamental: players should be in competitive action, physically prepared and fully ready to play for the national team,” Queiroz stressed.
He concluded with a message of hard work and humility, urging the team to outwork the best on the continent if Ghana is to achieve its ambitions.
“Every squad selection, every training session and every match must contribute to building a better team. If we want to compete with the best, it is not enough to work as hard as they do. We have to work even harder and better,” he concluded.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
The national U-17 female team, the Black Maidens, have arrived in Rabat from their pre-camp base in Casablanca to begin their campaign at the 2026 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup.
The team will open their Group C fixtures against Norway on Sunday, October 18, at the Mohammed VI Football Complex. They will then face Brazil on Thursday, October 22, before wrapping up the group stage against Canada on Saturday, October 24.
During their two-week training camp in Casablanca, the technical team tested the squad’s readiness with two international friendlies against China and Kenya.
The Black Maidens are returning to the global showpiece after missing the last edition, aiming to build on a proud record that includes a bronze medal in 2012 and three quarter-final appearances.
The team is expected to hold its first training session in Rabat on Wednesday as it puts finishing touches to preparations for the opener against Norway.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
IN modern football, the final whistle doesn’t signal the end of the show; it signals the intermission.
The Top five European Leagues (Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A, and Ligue 1) have mastered a brutal truth of the digital age: you don’t just sell the match; you sell the marathon.
By weaponising transfer window tension, season reviews, and microscopic highlight reels, they’ve turned 90 minutes of sport into a 24/7/365 content vortex.
Meanwhile, back home, the Ghana Premier League (GPL) is haemorrhaging relevance not because the talent isn’t there but because the storytelling is dead.
The Football Association’s apathy is only rivalled by its hypocrisy.
The European Blueprint: Selling the ‘Appetite’
Why do fans tune into a random mid-table La Liga clash on a Friday night? Because they’ve been primed. Across the summer, broadcasters and clubs drip-feed ‘transfer sagas’ like high-stakes soap operas.
Will the star leave? Who is the mystery medical? This tension creates a parasocial investment that transcends the pitch.
Paired with this are season-review documentaries and hyper-curated game highlights tailored for TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. These aren’t just goal clips; they are tactical breakdowns, sideline theatrics, and VAR controversies packaged into digestible and emotional bites.
This strategy has inflated broadcasting rights to astronomical sums (the Premier League’s recent domestic deal hit £6.7 billion).
They know that if you feed the audience year-round, they will binge-watch when it matters.
The GPL Vacuum: No Sponsor, No Story
Now, overlay this blueprint onto the Ghana Premier League. It is a stark, barren contrast.
The league is poorly run, lacking a headline sponsor to give it financial muscle or marketing prestige. Without that corporate backing, the media machine grinds to a halt.
The transfer market, which should be the peak of offseason intrigue, is a ghost town. We hear about signings, but the transfer fee is universally undisclosed.” We only get the contract length.
This kills the narrative. In Europe, a €100 million move generates weeks of debate; in Ghana, a move generates a one-line social media post, devoid of gravity. Fans cannot gauge ambition, nor can they measure a club’s financial muscle.
Most damningly, there are no reviews from the broadcasting rights holders. No glossy season-compilation DVDs. No weekly magazine shows dissecting past campaigns to build hype for the next.
The Broadcasting Right Holders (BRHs) treat the GPL as an obligation to air live, not as an IP to monetize through content. The league goes dormant the moment the trophy is lifted.
And the FA? They seem unconcerned. There is no strategic blue • A scene from the Ghana Premier League print to pump these ‘stuffs’ into the digital ecosystem. They treat the league’s media output like an afterthought, ignoring that a lack of online noise equals a lack of bums on seats.
The Black Stars Paradox: The Hypocrisy of Production
Here is the crushing irony that exposes the FA’s priorities. When the Black Stars assemble for a World Cup qualifier or an AFCON match, the narrative flips overnight.
Suddenly, the budget for proper camera operators and videographers appears from thin air. We get cinematic drone shots, multi-angle slow-motion replays, tunnel cams, and emotional post-match interviews.
Every moment, every tackle, every save, every passionate fan in the stands is captured in vivid, broadcast-ready quality. The national team gets the full ‘European treatment.’
This reveals a devastating double standard. The FA treats the Black Stars as the sole marketable asset, forgetting that the GPL is the engine room that produces these stars.
By diverting all production value to the national team while starving the domestic league of visual prestige, they are cannibalizing their own foundation.
The Verdict
You cannot build a football culture on national team fixtures alone.
Europe thrives because they understand that content is the currency of fandom.
Until the Ghana FA secures a headline sponsor, enforces transparent transfer disclosures (to fuel debate), and mandates that broadcasting partners produce engaging season reviews and highlight packages, the GPL will remain a hidden gem rather than a sparkling crown.
The players are there. The passion is there. But if the FA continues to save its best camera angles for the Black Stars while leaving the Premier League in the dark, they aren’t just failing the clubs; they are starving the very appetite they desperately need to feed
By Leslie Agyemang
