News
What the 7 directives mean for the future of football governance
There is an old, timeless piece of Ewe wisdom that warns: “If you make your face like a dog, they will take you to the farm.” It is a beautifully vivid proverb about the perils of looking a little too compliant, a little too passive, or just goofy enough to be handed a hoe and pointed toward the hard labour of the cassava patch.
For the longest time, the Ghana Football Association (GFA) managed to avoid the farm. They strutted around the plush offices of the Ridge residential area, carrying themselves not like farmhands, but like untouchable lords of a private fiefdom, wrapped securely in the bulletproof vest of FIFA’s “government interference” statutes. But after a series of legendary tactical disasters, the GFA has finally fashioned its face into the perfect canine expression. And right on cue, Sports Minister Kofi Adams has shown up with a very sharp hoe, ready to take them all the way to the plantation.
The latest drama unfolded with comedic precision. The Ministry of Sports and Recreation dropped a heavy, seven-point hammer on the GFA. This massive bureaucratic intervention was triggered by the Black Stars’ sensational ability to turn the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers into a masterclass in comedic defence. Losing 2-0 to Ivory Coast in Bouaké was bad enough. But blowing a comfortable two-goal lead at the Accra Sports Stadium to lose 4-2 to The Gambia? That required a special kind of artistic incompetence. It takes real skill to make a football pitch look like an Accra market day during a downpour.
The curious case of the 111-day coach
Naturally, the first casualty of this tragicomedy was the legendary Portuguese tactician Carlos Queiroz, who exit stage left after just 111 days across two separate stints in 2026. Queiroz’s departure was wrapped in the usual, diplomatic fluff of “mutual termination.” In his parting Instagram post, he asked Ghanaians to “believe in these players” and “protect them.” He forgot to add, “and please protect them from their own federation.”
Rumours from the camp suggest Queiroz packed his bags because he couldn’t handle the classic Ghanaian cocktail of player interference and chaotic hotel logistics. He also reportedly insisted on bringing in a bizarrely extensive backroom staff that included a 70-year-old kit manager. When your kit manager has seen more decades than your entire midfield combined, you know the strategy is getting a bit dusty. But let’s be honest: hiring seven coaches in seven years is not a technical direction—it’s a speed-dating exercise where everyone ends up heartbroken.
Black Stars’ disaster timeline
(2026), June 2026: World Cup Round of 32 Exit vs Colombia (1-0), Sept 2026: AFCON Qualifier — Ivory Coast 2 – 0 Ghana, Sept 2026: AFCON Qualifier — Ghana 2 – 4 The Gambia, | Oct 1, 2026: Carlos Queiroz Mutually Terminates Contract.
Oct 2, 2026: Kofi Adams drops 7 post-meeting directives
Entering the “Cooperation” Era
For months, furious fans and members of Parliament have been screaming at President John Dramani Mahama’s government to simply dissolve the GFA. But Kofi Adams is a clever politician. He knows that if he locks the doors to the GFA secretariat, FIFA will descend upon Ghana football like an angry deity, banning the nation from international tournaments faster than a referee can flash a red card.
So, instead of a dramatic coup, Adams chose the path of bureaucratic suffocation. He took to the airwaves of Joy FM to gently remind everyone that while the state cannot legally dissolve the GFA because it is a “private registered entity that pays its taxes,” the state absolutely owns the money that funds the national teams.
And that is how we arrived at the Seven Golden Directives.
The Ministry has ordered the wholesale dissolution of the entire Black Stars technical team and all existing management committees. In their place, Adams is creating a brand-new National Technical Management Committee. The catch? It will feature two government-appointed experts sitting right next to two GFA nominees. To ensure the GFA doesn’t sneak any strange names into the new head coach’s contract, the Ministry has also grabbed three coveted seats on the five-member coaching search committee.
The Golden hoe of accountability
The crowning jewel of this intervention is a mandatory, FIFA-standard cooperation agreement that the GFA must sign. This is a beautiful piece of legal phrasing that translates to: “We pay for the fuel, we pay for the hotels, and we buy the jerseys, so we will now decide who enters the bus.”
For years, the GFA operated under the comforting illusion that public money is a one-way street—that the Ministry should simply open the state coffers, drop off sacks of cash, and walk away without asking why a backup left-back’s hotel room costs more than a small house in Adenta. But the Ministry has grown tired of being the sugar daddy of Ghanaian football.
The GFA’s absolute lack of a coherent football blueprint has finally stripped them of their autonomy. By consistently presenting a face of cluelessness, they have practically begged the government to step in and handle the farming. As Kurt Okraku and his executives walked out of the Ministry on Friday, clutching their new seven-point marching orders, the reality must have set in. The era of treating the national team as a private goldmine is coming to a very abrupt, very bureaucratic end.
The GFA wanted to play the stubborn dog. Now, they are being led to the field, and Kofi Adams is making sure they dig every single row.
By Emmanuel Amponsah
The writer is a former Editor of The Spectator
ODORGONNO Senior High School (SHS) has won the maiden 2026 Senior High School Plastic Waste Reuse Innovation Awards, organised among five SHSs in Accra to promote plastic waste recycling and reuse.
Odorgonno SHS received a cash prize of GH¢8,000 after securing 97 points. Accra Senior High School placed second with 96 points and received GH¢4,000, while O’Reilly SHS placed third with 90 points and received GH¢2,000.
Forces Senior High Technical School placed fourth with 83 points, while St John’s Grammar SHS came fifth with 72 points. Both schools received GH¢1,000 each as cash prizes.
Outstanding students from the participating school clubs were also recognised with gold medals and certificates. St John’s Grammar SHS received five plastic recovery cages as the school with the highest volume of recovered plastic waste.
The awards formed part of the CSIR-Institute of Industrial Research (CSIR-IIR) Schools Plastics Recovery Project, an initiative aimed at promoting plastic waste recovery, responsible environmental practices and the productive use of recovered materials.
The project included educational campaigns in all five participating schools, the provision of metal cages for plastic source segregation, an educational excursion to a Miniplast recycling factory and a plastics challenge that encouraged innovative reuse of plastic waste.
The Project Lead and Senior Research Scientist at CSIR-IIR, Dr Boniface Yeboah Antwi, said the project demonstrated how young people could become active contributors to solving Ghana’s environmental challenges while providing financial incentives to sustain their efforts.
He said when schools generated income from recovered materials, they could support the maintenance of collection infrastructure, reinforce responsible waste management and instil an entrepreneurial mindset in students.
Dr Antwi explained that within the first month, the participating schools recovered 1.5 tonnes, or 1,500 kilogrammes, of plastic waste—equivalent to the weight of approximately 15,000 one-litre water bottles.
He said the recovery generated GH¢2,000 in revenue for the schools, demonstrating that plastic waste could become a source of value rather than an environmental burden.
The Group Head of General Operations at OmniBSIC Bank, Mr Dominic Donkoh, urged the participating schools to sustain their plastic waste segregation, collection and sales activities.
He said the proceeds could support school environmental clubs and other worthwhile initiatives while providing students with practical lessons in saving, budgeting and responsible financial management.
“We encourage students to apply the financial literacy lessons acquired during this engagement. Learn to manage the proceeds from your recycling activities responsibly, appreciate the importance of saving, and explore innovative ways to create both environmental and financial value,” he added.
–GNA
SKIP THE QUEUE, TAP THE NEWS
You can now read the Ghanaian Times and The Spectator newspapers from the comfort of your device via TimesNewsPlus.
Join our WhatsApp Channel: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VbBElzjInlqHhl1aTU27
Parents have been urged to prioritise girls’ education over early marriage to protect them from losing their childhood, education and opportunities for a better future.
The Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolitan Girl Child Coordinator, Madam Margaret Blay, said child marriage disrupted girls’ education, threatened their health and well-being, and limited their ability to realise their full potential.
“Keep her in school, not in a man’s house,” she urged parents, stressing the need for families and communities to protect girls’ right to education and personal development.
She made the call in a welcome address at the 2026 celebration of the International Day of the Girl Child in the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis, held under the theme: “End Child Marriage and Invest in Girls’ Rights.”
Madam Blay said ending child marriage required collective action from parents, teachers, traditional leaders, government institutions and communities to ensure that girls were protected and given the opportunity to pursue their aspirations.
She noted that child marriage often forced girls out of school before they were physically, emotionally and socially prepared for the responsibilities associated with marriage.
She said investing in girls’ rights was not merely a moral obligation but also an investment in the future of communities and the nation.
According to her, girls who remained in school, had their voices heard and received the necessary support could grow into leaders, professionals, innovators and active contributors to national development.
Madam Blay called on teachers to protect girls’ access to education, create supportive learning environments and empower them to express themselves confidently.
She also appealed to traditional leaders to help address harmful cultural practices and social norms that denied girls opportunities to develop their potential.
The government and relevant institutions, she said, must strengthen the enforcement of child protection laws to ensure that every girl received adequate protection.
She further urged communities to speak out against child marriage, report cases and work together to create safe environments where girls could learn, grow and thrive.
Madam Blay said every girl deserved the freedom to dream, acquire an education and determine her own future.
She expressed the hope that the celebration would strengthen stakeholders’ collective resolve to end child marriage and invest in the rights, education and future of every girl.
Madam Karen Ama Moses, Assembly Member for the Takoradi Railway and Harbour Electoral Area, said keeping girls in school would lead to enlightened mothers, well-informed families, resilient communities and, ultimately, a better Ghana.
She stressed that no child should be forced into marriage, adding that “every child must have the freedom to learn, grow, dream and choose her future.”
Some of the schoolchildren expressed concern that their parents did not always listen to their concerns during difficult times, while others said some children were exposed to abuse and early marriage.
Madam Henrietta Quabu, the Metropolitan School Health Coordinator, urged children experiencing abuse or any situation that threatened their well-being to report to the police, the Department of Social Welfare, the media, their teachers or the Metropolitan Education Directorate for assistance.
— GNA
SKIP THE QUEUE, TAP THE NEWS
You can now read the Ghanaian Times and The Spectator newspapers from the comfort of your device via TimesNewsPlus.
Join our WhatsApp Channel: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VbBElzjInlqHhl1aTU27
