According to John Dramani Mahama, the National Democratic Congress’s 2024 flagbearer, the new Black Stars would be made up of homegrown players.
He made the comment on the Northern Region part of his “Building The Ghana We Want Tour” as he campaigns for President of Ghana, hoping to succeed outgoing President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
The Black Stars have performed poorly in recent years, with the most recent setback being a first-round loss from the 2023 AFCON in Cote d’Ivoire.
As mentioned above, Ghana failed to win a game in three appearances in the competition, dropping out of the AFCON in the group stage for the second time in a row.
Addressing a crowd, the NDC presidential candidate stated that the Black Stars under his administration would be formed on home-grown players who had thrived in Ghana’s new football framework.
“We will develop the new Black Stars around homegrown talent. Domestic players that have trained together for a long time and operate well as a team, and then we will bring in international players to mix in.”
“The core of the Black Stars should consist of domestic players who have played together for a long time…” We plan to restructure Ghana football in partnership with the Ghana Football Association.”
Ghana’s failure in Côte d’Ivoire marks their second consecutive group stage exit at the AFCON. Under Andre Ayew’s captaincy, the Black Stars have had their poorest AFCON result since 2006. Ghana lost to Tunisia in the round of 16 in Ayew’s maiden tournament as captain in 2019.
Chris Hughton, Ghana’s head coach, was sacked once the squad’s elimination was announced, and the Black Stars’ technical team was subsequently dissolved. A five-member group, lead by Vice President Mark Addo, is in charge of finding a new head coach.
The GFA also stated that, following a meeting of the Association’s Executive Council and RFA Chairmen, it will conduct a thorough evaluation of several areas of the national team, including strategy, training, salary, and general structure. The Association also pledged to “restore the pride and success we all desire for the Black Stars.”
GFA apologizes to Ghanaians and accepts responsibility for the Black Stars’ early AFCON exit