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What’s happening to our age-group football?
Years back, Ghana’s age-group football teams were spectacles to behold. They were a real charm.
The national Under-17 side (Black Starlets), the Under-20 and Under-23 teams (the Black Satellites and Black Meteors) were always the cynosure of all eyes; and whenever the senior national team (Black Stars) disappointed, we had the age-restricted outfits jumping in to bail the nation out of its desolation and torture.
The Starlets, for instance, delighted everybody with its trademark of tantalizing football and won the hearts of millions across the world. That the ‘Twinkling Twinkling Little Stars’ as the two-time World Cup-winning Starlets are known, dazzled and burrowed their way into the hearts of the fairer sex, is an assertion that cannot be contorted.
On the continental front, as well, they are three-time champions.
The Satellites, too, have been champions in their own right – brushing aside everything they surveyed, especially in the 90s. Do not forget this is that evocatively vintage side that upstaged Brazil in the final of the FIFA World Under-20 Youth tournament in 1999, becoming the only African team to win this trophy.
For the Black Meteors, the fact that they became the first African team to clinch bronze at the Olympic Games (Barcelona 1992), speaks volumes.
Sadly, today, the nation’s age-group teams are steadily but speedily turning into also-runs at qualifiers and tournaments, making many wonder whether our future have any dependable future, at all.
Only last week, hosts Ghana failed to qualify for the 2023 U-17 Africa Cup of Nations after losing 1-0 in the West African Football Union (WAFU) Zone B semi-finals to Burkina Faso, at the Cape Coast Stadium. It was the second successive failure of the Starlets, having failed earlier in 2019 which also denied them qualification to the World Cup.
In May, this year, the Satellites also crumbled in their bid to defend their WAFU Zone B title after losing to Burkina Faso 2-1 in the second group game. The defeat saw them miss out on the Africa U-20 Cup of Nations and the FIFA World Cup in Egypt and Indonesia respectively. Ghanaians were horrified by the slouch.
In the case of the Meteors, the last time they qualified for the Olympic Games was as far back as Athens 2004 – some 18 years ago. That is grossly unacceptable.
Clearly, there is something those in charge of our football are not doing well over the years. It is either they have gone to sleep or are getting their tactics off beam.
Indeed, it is time for our football authorities to wake up from their slumber and begin to do the right thing. Some of the players we have seen don the national colours of these junior national teams are anything but pedestrian – and sometimes have triggered suspicions of ‘position buying’ in the eyes of the public.
In those halcyon days, a decent number of our talents were picked from the Inter Colleges and Schools Sports festivals. What has happened to that system now? What has happened to active juvenile football league that was promised by the Ghana Football Association (GFA)? These were the models that produced marquee names like Michael Essien, Sulley Ali Muntari, Mubarak Wakasu, Samuel Inkoom, Baba Rahman, John Mensah, and many others.
Look at the embarrassment and shame that the nation had to endure recently when as many as 20 Starlets players had to be dropped few days ahead of the WAFU B Under-17 Nations Cup for failing the MRI tests. Why should that be the case?
Without any shred of doubt, that incident played a massive part in the 4-2 defeat of the team by Nigeria in the opening game, leading to their eventual failure to make it to the continental tournament proper. Question: What went into the selection of the players by Coach Paa Kwesi Fabin? This is not the first time our players have been caught by the MRI and it begs the question as to whether we are a serious football nation, at all?
Come to think of it, our female Under-17 team – Black Maidens, were also recently accused of age-cheating by their Moroccan counterparts, threatening to report Ghana to FIFA. The Moroccans eliminated the Maidens 4-2 on penalties to book a place at the Under-17 World Cup in India, slated for October, this year.
Maybe, let us say it was all mind game by the North Africans and we succumbed to it. Perhaps!
Whilst we commend the national Under-20 women’s team (Black Princesses) for qualifying for this month’s FIFA World Cup in Costa Rica, the Ghana FA must do a deep soul-searching of its policy as regards building a compellingly winsome age-group sides capable of winning medals again for the nation.
This nation abounds in embarrassing depth of talents which can be explored through an elaborately well thought-out programme – right from the juvenile league system through to the schools-inter colleges’ football competitions.
It is also imperative that we see some progression. Fact that the age-group teams failed to qualify for their respective competitions is not enough raison d’être to press the jettison button and throw them overboard when there are a couple of talents in there to pick and choose for the next level.
We witnessed how we glistened in the age-category football in the 90s because of that clairvoyant progression that saw the likes of Starlets’ Odartey Lamptey, Isaac Asare, Emmanuel Osei Kuffuor, Yaw Preko and Emmanuel Duah among others, draft into the Satellites, Meteors – and later the Black Stars.
If for nothing at all, that succession plan should see our teams exhibit some quality in terms of cohesion, unity and solidity in performance – a positive feature we have been lacking for a while now.
PlainTalk with John Vigah
The Global Network of Export-Import Banks and Development Finance Institutions (G-NEXID) successfully held its sixth (6th) Exchange Programme, hosted by the Ghana Export – Import Bank (GEXIM) Bank in Accra from March 22 to 23 March.
The event brought together member institutions, partner organisations and Ghanaian public entities to advance dialogue on South-South trade, investment and development finance, while also creating opportunities for knowledge-sharing and institutional cooperation.
Organised as a capacity-building and networking platform, the 2026 edition of the G-NEXID Exchange focused on GEXIM’s experience in developing innovative solutions to promote intra-African and extra-African trade.
It also highlighted trade and investment opportunities in Ghana, particularly in the context of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and broader national development initiatives.
The Exchange Programme forms part of G-NEXID’s mandate to foster cooperation among export-import banks and development finance institutions in support of South-South trade and investment.
This 6th edition follows earlier successful programmes hosted by India Exim Bank (2016), BNDES (2017), Indonesia Eximbank (2018), Afreximbank (2019) and Saudi EXIM Bank (2025).
On the first day, participants were presented with G-NEXID institutional information and received an update on the Network’s 2026 work programme.
There were a series of substantive presentations, including an overview of the Ghanaian economy by the Ministry of Finance, with particular attention to debt-related challenges; a presentation by the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC), on investment opportunities in the country; and institutional presentations by GEXIM and Development Bank Ghana (DBG) on their respective mandates, initiatives, products and services.
Discussions during the sessions underscored strong interest in sector-focused webinars and business dialogues, particularly in agribusiness value chains such as poultry and rice.
Participants also emphasized the importance of continued information exchange and the sharing of best practices, especially in the area of guarantees.
The second day opened with a presentation on the 24-Hour Economy and Accelerated Export Development Programme, a national economic transformation strategy launched by President John Dramani Mahama in July 2025.
The initiative aims to enhance economic productivity through continuous industrial activity, accelerated export development and strategic import substitution.
As the programme is expected to mobilise both private and development capital, it presents concrete opportunities for G-NEXID members in areas such as co-financing, guarantees, trade finance and technical cooperation.
The programme also featured institutional presentations by guest organisations, namely the African Guarantee and Economic Cooperation Fund (FAGACE) and the West African Development Bank (BOAD), which shared their mandates, initiatives, products and services.
Following these exchanges, the G-NEXID Secretariat held bilateral discussions with both institutions as part of the Network’s ongoing membership drive.
Participants further benefited from a presentation by the Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank (TDB), as well as a showcase of GEXIM’s key pipeline projects.
On the margins of the Exchange Programme, G-NEXID members also held their 20th Annual General Assembly Meeting to review progress and discuss strategic priorities.
Following the event, participants joined the GEXIM@10 International Conference, held from March 24-25, 2026 under the theme, “A Decade of Enabling Export Trade and Industrial Transformation: Resetting GEXIM for the Next Frontier.”
The conference provided an important platform for exploring how Ghana can strengthen its transition from a primary commodity exporter to a more competitive player in value-added trade and industrial development.
Source – G-NEXID
President John Dramani Mahama on Tuesday, March 31, 2026, signed five bills including three amendment bills passed by Parliament into law.
They are: Security and Intelligence Agencies Bill, 2025; University of Engineering and Agricultural Sciences Bill, 2025; Ghana Deposit Protection (Amendment) Bill, 2025; Growth and Sustainability Levy (Amendment) Bill, 2026; and Education Regulatory Bodies (Amendment) Bill, 2026.
In a brief remark after assenting to the bills, President Mahama explained that the Security and Intelligence Agencies Act, 2026, scraps the Office of Minister of National Security and frees the President’s to appoint any Minister to supervise the security agencies.
He said it also reverses the name of the office of National Intelligence Bureau (NIB), to the original name, Bureau of National Intelligence, (BNI).
This the President said, addresses the confusion between that security agency and a well-known Ghanaian financial institution, the National Investment Bank.
President Mahama also noted that the University of Engineering and Agricultural Sciences Act, 2026, establishes another University in the Eastern Region, at Bonsu, with three campuses – the main campus at Bonsu in the Eastern Region, with the second campus to be cited at Ohawu in the Oti Region.
The third, the Presdient assed will be located at Acherensua in the Ahafo Region.
Touching on the Amendment to the Growth and Sustainability Levy Act, the President said, “As you’re aware, the act was amended to increase it from 1% to 3%, and so this act reduces it again. That is the levy on mining companies. It reduces it again to 1%, because of the introduction of the sliding scale of royalties.”
He also spoke to the passage of the Government Education Regulatory Bodies Amendment Act, emphasising that amends Act 1023 to grant greater flexibility to private tertiary institutions and the option to Charter.
The Ghana Deposit Protection Amendment Act, the President concluded, is an amendment to an original act that was supposed to guarantee deposits held in commercial banks or financial institutions.
It basically expands protection to include mobile money wallets and other digital platforms, ensuring a wider scope of digital financial assets are secured.
The signing ceremony, was witnessed by the Clerk of Parliament, Mr. Ebenezer Ahumah Djietror, Secretary to the President, Dr Callistus Mahama, the Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Dr Dominic Akrutinga Ayine, Chief of Staff, Julius Debrah, Joyce Bawa Mogtari, a Senior Presidential Advisor and a Special Aide to the President, Finance Minister, Dr Cassiel Ato Baah Forson, and the Vice President, Professor Jane Naana Opoku Agyemang.
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