Nii Lante Vanderpuye not surprised with sacking of Ghana coach C.K Akonnor

Former Sports Minister, Nii Lante Vanderpuye has disclosed that he was not surprised with the sacking of Black Stars coach, CK Akonnor and his two assistants.

The 47-year-old was shown the exit door by the Ghana Football Association (GFA) on Monday.

Coach Akonnor came under huge criticism following Ghana’s unconvincing performances in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

Black Stars won 1-0 against Ethiopia on matchday one but lost 1-0 to South Africa at the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg in their second Group G game.

“I was not surprised to hear C.K. Akonnor fired. Just last week I was on air and said that if I were in charge, I would have asked the entire technical team to resign. Looking at their performance, there was no way we would have qualified for the World Cup,” Nii Lante Vanderpuye told Citi TV.

“We need to take our time and find a new coach. There need to be several considerations before making such a decision. We can even find an interim coach, someone with the needed expertise to help us make it to the World Cup, then we take our time to find a substantive coach.”

He added, “Especially with the management of our national teams. The change will not come from an individual or personality. Changing the GFA president doesn’t change anything.”

“The change we are seeking will stem from a change in the structure and institution. The problem we have as a country is about planning, especially when it comes to leadership. We cannot plant cassava and harvest plantain. If we fail to plan, we plan to fail.

“We should have a long-term plan for sports as a nation. We do not even have a structured sports programme in schools. Assuming we do not have the likes of Dede Ayew in the coming days, what are we going to do? Have we planned enough?”