Hughton sacked after Ghana AFCON group stage exit

In an apparent response to a rallying call for the sack of Black Stars coach, Chris Hughton, following the team’s dismal perfor­mance at the 2023 AF­CON in Cote d’Ivoire, the Ghana Football Association (GFA) has relieved the coach of his duties.

The action was contained in an FA statement issued late Monday.

The Executive Council (ExCo) also announced a decision to dissolve the technical team of the Black Stars.

“The Ghana Football Asso­ciation wishes to announce that Chris Hughton has been relieved of his duties as head coach of the senior national team with immedi­ate effect,” the statement said.

It added that “The Executive Council has also taken a decision to dissolve the technical team of the Black Stars,” promising in the coming days to provide a road­map on the future direction of the Black Stars.

Hughton’s continuous stay in the helm of affairs of the techni­cal team was called into question by an unacceptable performance from the Black Stars at the ongo­ing 2023 AFCON in Cote d’Ivoire where the team replicated the performance of the previous AF­CON in Cameroun with a group stage exit.

The Stars crashed heavily out of the competition with only two points from a Group B that had Egypt, Cape Verde and Mozam­bique to contend with.

The team commenced the cam­paign on an erratic note, losing 2-1 to Cape Verde and drawing 2-2 with both Egypt and Mozam­bique.

What angered fans was the manner of the defeats, having seen the Stars’ lead surrendered by unpardonable errors to raise concerns over commitment and concentration of players.

Hopes of progressing as one of the four best third placed teams also backfired by the un­favourable results chalked in the ongoing games.

Hughton’s Ghana adventure kick started in February 2022 after a brief appointment as the Technical Advisor for the team handled by Dortmund star, Otto Addo.

From his experience in that position, the former Norwich and Newcastle coach took over from Otto Addo who bowed outafter the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

Having started the campaign on a sloppy note, Hughton marshalled his charges and were boosted by the return of Kudus Mohammed who scored two goals against Egypt.

The draw against the Pharaohs lifted fans spirit, feeling Hugh­ton’s side would snatch the maxi­mum points against the Mambas of Mozambique to cement a place in the last 16.

However, they threw every­thing up with late errors that ensured the points were split.

That appeared to be the last straw that forced the FA to make a U-turn on an earlier pledge to back Hughton fully after a fan altercation.

 BY ANDREW NORTEY

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