Nyantekyi, Razak Braimah must give way!

  The desire of Ghanaians to see and touch the prestigious Africa Cup of Nations Cup has once again fizzled out, following the elimination of the Black Stars from the tournament by Cameroun. This is the 5th or 6th time that the national team has gone beyond the quarter final stage, but failed to lift […]

The post Nyantekyi, Razak Braimah must give way! appeared first on The Chronicle - Ghana News.

 

The desire of Ghanaians to see and touch the prestigious Africa Cup of Nations Cup has once again fizzled out, following the elimination of the Black Stars from the tournament by Cameroun.

This is the 5th or 6th time that the national team has gone beyond the quarter final stage, but failed to lift the cup.

The last time the national team lifted the cup was way back in 1982. Ten years later, a crack team, led by Abedi Ayew Pele, failed to annex the cup in Senegal, and since then, the team has been struggling to win the cup.

At a point in time, many Ghanaians thought the appointment of a chairman to head the Ghana Football Association (GFA), managers of the national team, by the government of the day was not helping the country.

This ‘coup’ led to the election of Mr Kwasi Nyantekyi as President of the GFA. Indeed, the decision by the government to distance itself from the FA began to bear fruit, as Nyantekyi’s administration qualified Ghana to the World Cup for the first time in 2006.

The fine administrative structures put in place successfully qualified the team once again in 2010, where they reached the quarter finals, and also the 2014 edition, hosted by Brazil.

With the performance of the team at the three successive World Cup appearances, many were those who thought annexing the Africa Cup of Nations was in sight, but the opposite is the case.

Despite catching the attention of the World with our scintillating performance, the AFCON is still elusive. So far, no one has been able to digest the source of our problems, even though the nation continues to waste millions of dollars on the Black Stars.

To us at The Chronicle, two issues must be looked at – the longevity of Mr Nyantekyi at the helm of affairs at the GFA, and the behaviour of some of the players. Surely, Mr Nyantekyi has contributed to the development of football in this country.

We have already alluded to his managerial skills, which catapulted Ghana to the World Cup on three conservative occasions. Notwithstanding this great achievement, The Chronicle thinks it is time for him to leave the GFA and allow fresh minds to take over.

Kwesi Appiah is one of the finest coaches Ghana has ever produced, but the manner he was dismissed after Brazil 2014 leaves much to be desired.

Evidence adduced at the Dzamefe Commission pointed to the fact that the former Asante Kotoko defender did not contribute to the brouhaha that happened in Brazil, which brought shame to Ghana, but he was kicked out.

Meanwhile, the Nyantekyi administration, which in any part of the world would have resigned, is still at post.

Since Kwesi Appiah’s exit, the national team has not been the same. Avram Grant, who was brought in as his successor, has not only failed to win the AFCON on two occasions; but has actually put Ghana in a position that would make it virtually impossible for the Black Stars to qualify for the World Cup in Russia.

Now the former Chelsea manager, from all indications, is on his way out. If this is the situation, why should Nyantekyi also continue to be at the helm of affairs at the GFA? The Chronicle agrees that GFA is a private institution, but since their officials are the same people managing our national teams, Ghanaians, like The Chronicle, cannot sit down unconcerned when their leadership is failing the nation.

The behaviour of some of the players has also not helped the Black Stars in achieving laurels for the nation. In Brazil 2014, Sulley Ali Muntari and Kelvin Prince Boateng were sacked from the team’s camp because of indiscipline.

Earlier in 2002, Samuel Osei Kuffour, arguably one of Ghana’s finest defenders in recent history, was sacked from camp during the AFCON hosted by Mali, by the late coach Osam Duodu.

But what did we see? The current goalkeeper of the team, Razak Braimah, went bonkers insulting Ghanaians for criticising him over a goal he conceded.

This is a serious offence that should have warranted his immediate expulsion from the team, but he was only fined and allowed to stay in camp.

Since football thrives on discipline, how can we win the AFCON with this kind of behaviour? Ghanaians have lost interest in the Black Stars because of the conduct they exhibited in Brazil, but instead of wooing back the fans, they are rather insulting them.

On the basis of this, The Chronicle suggests that Razak Braimah must never be called back to the team. He must leave the team the same way we are calling on Kwesi Nyantekyi to wave bye bye to the GFA.

 

 

The post Nyantekyi, Razak Braimah must give way! appeared first on The Chronicle - Ghana News.

Read Full Story