Ghanaian coaches ‘clash’ on GFA Technical Director job

The search for a new GFA Technical Director took a step closer after the initial number of interested candidates was whittled down to six.

Two weeks ago, the FA though short of mentioning names announced a shortlist of three Ghanaians and three expatriates for the vacant position.

As the hunt for Oti Akenteng’s successor continues, a familiar conversation, usually associated with selection for a Black Stars coach has emerged.

The argument of whether an indigenous coach or expatriate should be appointment has become the latest twist to the discourse.

To a certain a school of thought, appointing a local coach is non-negotiable and any decision to the contrary will be a big insult to the fleet of coaches dotted across the country.

Former Asante Kotoko coach, Michael Osei tells GhanaWeb there are more than enough capable men in the country to handle the job.

“We have a lot of competent Ghanaians who I think can do the job. We have a lot of people who have played the game before and have high experience in the job as coaches. In my opinion there's no need to go for a foreigner because those who will work under him will be local coaches so why not appoint someone who is from here. We have more than competent coaches here.

Legendary Ghanaian footballer and now a coach Mohammed Polo is of the view that it will be a big indictment on the integrity of local coaches.

“We don’t need to appoint any foreigner for the job due to the maturity of our football. We have old footballers who can do the work. For a white man to come into this is an insult to our integrity.”

“Don’t we have sense? What have the white men done for us? They can’t do anything because we have our own destiny that is why we gained independence. This is the time to look for the right person to help our football because the Technical Director is there for our football policies especially the development of our football”.

Black Starlets Assistant Coach Ntow Gyan has also appealed to the FA to select a Ghanaian.

“The only difference between the white is that they are sincere and honest. I will prefer a Ghanaian to be named as the next Technical Director. The Ghana FA must headhunt the next technical director if possible”.

For former under-17 coach Isaac Opeele Boateng and veteran Bashir Hayford who is one of three local coaches who reportedly made the shortlist, the major requirement should competence.

They hold that irrespective of the person’s nationality or race if he has the required skills and knowledge to steer Ghana football in the right direction, then he should be appointed.

Bashir Hayford said “ for me, the discussion should not be about the nationality of the person. We should focus on the competence and experience of the person. If he is good enough why not”, he said.

“The key things should be competence, loyalty and willingness to sacrifice. The person must show that he has a deep understanding of Ghanaian football and must command the respect of the coaches. He must be willing to sacrifice for Ghana football. I don’t really think it should be about his race or nationality”, Opeele told www.ghanaweb.com.

Meanwhile, the FA says it will announce its new technical director when it finally settles on one.

The FA Technical Director as expected will be “responsible for the technical development and progress of the GFA. His responsibilities also include planning and executing a long-term view of how to continually raise standards and innovations both on and off the pitch and to ensure that the path from development teams, (junior national teams) to Ghana Men Senior Team (Black Stars) and Women’s Senior Team (Black Queens) are always integrated, learning is shared and the basic principles of how we play are integrated.