Former Ghana Football Association (GFA) Vice President George Afriyie has criticized the current leadership of the GFA over the reappointment of Otto Addo as head coach of the Black Stars.
After Chris Hughton’s sack following Ghana’s group-stage exit from the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Ivory Coast, Otto Addo, 47, was brought back as head coach.
He signed a three-year contract with an option for a two-year extension.
However, Addo’s tenure saw the Black Stars fail to qualify for the 2025 AFCON, marking the first time in two decades that Ghana would miss the tournament.
Despite playing six matches, Ghana finished at the bottom of Group F with just three points, recording three draws and three losses.
Afriyie blamed the poor performance on the GFA’s leadership, arguing that the decision to rehire Addo was misguided.
“Before and after the 2022 World Cup, I spoke against the appointment of Otto Addo because he made it clear that he was coming in for the playoff games against Nigeria,” he told Oyerepa FM.
“I then made the case that should we qualify, we will be at the World Cup and after that, there are an AFCON qualifiers and should we qualify, we will play at the tournament in Ivory Coast. After that, there are World Cup qualifiers in waiting so you would need an experienced coach who can lead the team to play all these games but Otto Addo led us to qualify for the 2022 World Cup.
“After the World Cup, Otto Addo left his role and Chris Hughton was named as his successor. I believe that we could have built for the future with him [Chris Hughton] because he is more experienced than Otto Addo but he was also sacked and Otto Addo was reappointed.
“Now of all the coaches in this world, the one who said he was not ready to coach the team was reappointed. He initially worked with Didi Dramani and George Boateng as his assistant coaches so you cannot discredit their input for our World Cup qualification but when all these coaches were sacked, John Paintsil and Fatau Dauda were named to assist Otto Addo. For me, it was a wrong decision by the GFA,” he added.
With Ghana’s failure to qualify for the 2025 AFCON, Addo’s future remains uncertain.
The GFA’s Executive Council recently held a marathon meeting to review his technical reports.
Looking ahead, the Black Stars will aim to keep their 2026 World Cup qualification hopes alive with crucial matches against Chad and Madagascar in March 2025.
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