Akonnor not in charge of Black Stars - Coach J.E Sarpong

Outspoken and controversial football coach Joseph Emmanuel Sarpong has alleged that Black Stars coach Charles Kwabla Akonnor is being influenced by the top officials at the Ghana Football Association (GFA).

According to him, the recent call ups released by the coach shows a clear indication that Akonnor is not in charge and is being manipulated in selection.

The Black Stars coach has been criticized over his recent call-up for the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against South Africa and Sao Tome and Principe.

The inclusion of Kwame Poku, a player of Colchester United in the English fourth tier has been met with a lot of criticisms.

“We need to investigate and find out who invited the player to come whether it was CK or somebody else. We cannot only blame CK. For me Coach Sarpong, if you interfere with my selection I will resign. I will not allow anybody to interfere with my team selection. If it goes wrong you the coach will be sacrificed. From where I sit, CK is not in charge of the team”, he told Happy FM.

Coach Sarpong believes there is an agenda to see Akonnor fail as Black Stars coach.

“There has been an agenda to sack CK Akonnor long ago but they don’t know how to do it. Let’s go and play the games against South Africa and Sao Tome, something will happen. The Technical Director Lippert will be asked to take over the team temporarily”, he concluded.

The Black Stars of Ghana are preparing to face South Africa in the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier on Thursday, March 25 in Johannesburg before taking on Sao Tome and Principe on March 28 at the Accra Sports Stadium.

Ghana needs a win to book a place in the tournament next year which will be staged in Cameroon.