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AFCON 2023: Ghana’s early elimination fuels celebrated sacking of its entire Technical Team

By: Alusine Rehme Wilson
The aftermath of poor outing of perceived hot favourites in the on-going Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) including eliminated 2019 champions Algeria, has hit the Black Stars of Ghana as its local federation commences immediate rebuilding of their national team coaching staff. On Tuesday, the Ghana Football Federation announced the sacking of their head coach Chris Hughton, 65, and the dissolution of his entire backroom staff, leaving the Black Stars without a coach at the moment after their early elimination at the 34th edition of the AFCON tournament. Although GFA did not clearly state the reason for its Executive Committee decision to dissolve the entire technical staff of its senior national men’s football team, “Black Stars,” many Ghanaians have welcomed the development which they say is not unconnected to their national team’s poor outing on Monday against perceived minnows Mozambique who claimed a point in a stunning 2-2 draw in their in Group-B. The nation’s winless run was not appreciated by Ghanaians supporters who blamed the technical team for letting them finish third with two points in the group stage behind leaders Cape Verde and Egypt with seven and three points citing their national team’s opening 2-1 to underrated Cape Verde, and the successive 2-2 draw with Egypt and Mozambique. Also, Ghana’s AFCON 2023 group stage misery saw them concede six goals, pulling five back which wrecked their progression to the knockout round, is believed to be the main reason for the local football federation (GFA) decision to fire its whole technical team. Though, the former Black Stars coach who was appointed last February, recently told journalists in Cote D’Ivoire that he takes “full responsibility for his team’s performance,” he further admitted that his “results with the Black Stars have not been good enough.” Under his managerial spell as Black Stars head coach, out of 13 matches in-charge, the 65-year-old British man secured four wins, five draws and lost four times, and he’s being rated the least with 31% win rate among the four times AFCON winners including their former attacking midfielder Otto Addo and 70-year-old Serbian born Milovan Rajevac with 40% and 38% respectively. Meanwhile, the Ghana Football Federation which has appointed and sacked four coaches since 2020 namely: Charles Kwabla Akonnor, 49, a former Ghanaian international footballer (2020-2021), Milovan Rajevac, 70 (2021-2022), former Black Stars midfielder Otto Addo, 38, (March-December 2022) and the recently axed 65-year-old English born Chris Hughton, has promised to in the coming days provide a roadmap on the future direction of the Black Stars.

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