Sports
Let Offei chart his own path
The appointment of African Games 2023 men football gold medalist, Desmond Offei as one of the assistants for Black Stars Coach Otto Addo will continue to be debated by football faithful.
Offei’s elevation has been hailed in certain quarters due to his tactical nous.
For others, the young coach should have been left alone to chart his own path, having commenced a burgeoning career with a feat chalked just twice in Ghana’s Africa Games history.
He was one of the new faces in the revamped Black Stars technical team announced this week by the Ghana Football Association (GFA).
He has been working behind the scenes for some time until his exploits at the Accra 2023 African Games with the national U-23 team, the Black Satellites brought him to the limelight.
The feat marked a resurgence of a young coach that was tipped to become the Pep Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp or Carlo Ancelotti of Ghana because of the way he sets up his team as well as the way they played.
That also earned Offei, perhaps his biggest honour in Ghana football as he was awarded the Coach of the Year 2024 gong by the Sports Writers Association of Ghana (SWAG).
In a few months’ time, he would commence work in the new role as assistant Black Stars coach in a totally new environment. That will add up to his experience in the game; no doubt about that.
The difference, however, is that he would not be the main man. Otto Addo, whose continuous stay as the Head Coach of the team has left Ghanaians in a state of uncertainty regarding Ghana’s qualification to the 2026 FIFA World Cup, would be the main man.
What it means is that Offei’s role and what he brings to the table on the team would just be complimentary. It would be strictly subjected to Otto Addo’s scrutiny.
So, in effect, Offei’s ‘stamp’ may not be seen or felt on the team’s output unless Addo can easily accept superior arguments and be humble enough to admit Offei’s way is how to go.
From the all-conquering squad he selected, fine talents like Remember Adomako, David Amuzu, Aziz Issah, Emmanuel Adjei, Asamoah Tuffuor, Kelvin Nkrumah, Aziz Misbau and Jerry Afriyie emerged as stars for the future.
And even when it was obvious a number of the senior Black Stars players performed poorly, resulting in the failure to earn an AFCON qualification, these youngsters were ignored.
Jerry Afriyie was later considered but even with that, he was kept on the bench until when Ghana trained 1-0 against Kwesi Appiah’s Sudan in Accra.The young chap delivered by getting an equaliser and gave a pass that put Kudus Mohammed in a scoring range before he was fouled for a penalty which Kudus wasted.
A number of these players may have featured from the onset if Offei was in charge but one can also not blame Otto Addo since he would bear the brunt of the fans when they fail to perform.
From my point of view, Coach Offei must be allowed to be his own man to improve his trade, identify and stick to his own philosophies and master it.
He should be given more responsibilities with the juvenile teams rather than rushing him to a team full of troubles. The outcome, if not positive can shatter his hopes and affect his confidence. When this happens, Ghana football would be the sufferer – take heed FA!
By Andrew Nortey
Ghana Premier League side, Nations FC, may have suffered the drop in the just ended Premier League and are destined for a fresh campaign in the Division One League (DOL).
But they stand a huge chance of remaining in the elite stage of the game as they face Dreams FC in an epic MTN FA Cup final at the University of Ghana Sports Stadium tomorrow at 6pm.
Dreams FC have been there before; going ahead to taste the honours in the 2022-23 season after defeating King Faisal.
Coming from a season that saw them crawl from the initial stages of the league to finish on a respectable fourth position, they come in as strong favourites to double their honours in the nation’s second top football competition.
History favours them in this regard. On their first final, they conquered and based on this, connoisseurs of the game have tipped them to make it ‘two-on-two.’
But Nations FC have been empowered by the age-old adage that “He that is down need fear no fall.”
Nothing can be worse than suffering relegation and exiting the limelight as far as exposure is concerned.
But the FA offers a decent opportunity to make them stay relevant.
Conquering Dreams FC would not just make them MTN FA Cup champions. It will grant them the prestigious slot to represent Ghana in the Confederation of African Football (CAF) second tier club competition- the Confederations Cup.
With Dreams FC harbouring the same ambitions, the stage is, therefore, set for a final that promises to be explosive and uncompromising.
The situation of Nations FC might have come to many as a surprise, considering their promising start to the season, with their defence especially, marshalled by Black Stars defender, Razak Simpson, and colleague central defender, Raymond Grippman, earning a lot of reviews.
But despite the struggles they endured at certain times of their campaign, the MTN FA Cup always provided slices of good fortunes as they managed to navigate their way to the final.
Road to the top
Nations FC began the MTN FA Cup competition on a promising note, enjoying some good runs with a win over DOL Zone Two side, Ebony FC, in the Round of 64.
That landed them in a tricky encounter with another high-flying Zone Two candidate, AshantiGold SC, a side that eventually won the title from the zone to qualify to the Premier League, but escaped.
At the round of 16 stage, they encountered and defeated Ghana Premier League side, Swedru All Blacks, 2-1 to gain progression to the quarter final stage where they edged Berekum Chelsea on penalties.
A dicey semi-final awaited them against Aduana FC in Swedru. It was a game Nations was given little chance to escape considering Aduana FC’s form but once again, they conquered to secure a final berth.
In total, the Abrankese-based club have scored eight goals and conceded only two throughout the competition, making them one of the strongest defensive sides in the tournament.
For Dreams FC, they defeated Division One League Zone Three side, Semper Fi, 2-1 to progress to the next stage of the competition where they accounted for Division Two side, Asanska FC, 2-0.
That handed them a quarterfinal berth where they faced Inter Allies and drew one all before winning 4-3 on penalties.
The happiest moment in their success story was a 3-2 semi-final win over GPL winners, Medeama SC.
With that feat, Dreams have been touted as potential winners as the match comes at a time the Nations FC side may be psychologically down over the weight of the challenge they face in the next season.
However, the competition has gain notoriety for not following any form guide and outcomes mostly coming as major surprises.
In this regard, Dreams may be tipped as favourite candidates but though Nations are wounded, the stakes could revive an insatiable desire to apply the brakes to turn the dreams of Dreams FC into a nightmare.
Support
The support from MTN Ghana has no doubt improved competition among the clubs with the attractive incentive packages for participating clubs.
MTN Ghana, which is celebrating 30 years of operations in Ghana, formally became headline sponsors of the Ghana FA Cup in the 2010/2011 football season after the competition had returned from an eight-year hiatus.
The first edition under MTN sponsorship was won by Nania FC, who defeated Asante Kotoko 1–0 in the final at the Accra Sports Stadium.
Since then, the competition has been known as the MTN FA Cup, with MTN renewing its sponsorship several times — in 2013, 2017, 2020 and again for subsequent seasons.
By Andrew Nortey
The Black Stars have opened camp in Cardiff ahead of next week’s international friendly against Wales.
The team is being taken through training drills by head coach Carlos Queiroz.
Thirteen players trained at Dragon Park on Monday, with others expected to join the squad on Tuesday.
They include Ernest Nuamah, Brandon Thomas-Asante, Jordan Ayew, Caleb Yirenkyi, Abdul Fatawu Issahaku, Elisha Owusu, Gideon Mensah, Marvin Senaya, Jerome Opoku, Benjamin Asare, Joseph Anang, Solomon Agbasi, and Alidu Seidu.
The Black Stars will train in Cardiff for one week ahead of the international friendly against Wales on Tuesday, June 2, before traveling to the United States of America.
Coach Carlos Queiroz will use the period to assess his players before naming his final squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Canada, Mexico, and the United States.
Twenty-six players will be submitted to FIFA on Monday, June 1, as mandated by the competition regulations.
The Black Stars are drawn in Group L with Panama, England, and Croatia. They will open their World Cup campaign against Panama on June 17 in Toronto before facing England and Croatia in their other group matches.
