Meet Anthony Baffoe, the first expatriate Black Stars player

His acceptance to play for Ghana’s national team, the Black Stars, despite lucrative offers to don the national team jersey of Germany paved way for Africans and most predominantly Ghanaian-born players to return to play for their native countries.

Ghanaian-born players—Hans Adu Sarpei, Otto Addo, Quincy Owusu Abeyie, Kwesi Appiah, Kevin Prince-Boateng, Kim Grant, Jeffery Schlupp and Adam Kwarasey—are but a few who have followed in the traits of the Tony Baffoe.

Known for his ruthless style of play against opposition defenders, Anthony Baffoe, though born by Ghanaian diplomats, was also less diplomatic with the treatment he reserved for opposition forwards in the German Bundesliga and the Black Stars of which he was capped 25 times notably at the 1992 and 1994 Africa Cup of Nations.

Born in Bad Godesberg Bonn in then West Germany, Tony Baffoe till date is recognised as one of the architects with the most spectacular stories in German football, helping Bundesliga 2 side, Stuttgarter Kickers, to reach the final of the DFB Cup, where he set up the opening goal for the rank outsiders before being beaten 3-1 by Bundesliga champions, Hamburger SV, in front of 76,000 fans in Berlin’s Olympiastadion.

He was also part of the Black Stars squad that finished second in the 1992 Africa Cup of Nations against Ivory Coast in Senegal. The towering defender had the opportunity to play with three-time Africa Player of the Year, Abedi Pele, legendary Ghanaian striker, Anthony Yeboah, and current Black Stars head coach, James Kwasi Appiah.

After his playing career, Baffoe used his broad popularity to set up and front a new TV magazine show devoted to youth football. He was successful on German television in various sport programmes and also acting as host of Viasat One’s UEFA Champions League show in Ghana. After a few years, the former defensive utility man has evolved into a well-known representative of the African continent and his home country.

Currently, Baffoe occupies several functions for the African Football Confederation (CAF), as well as for FIFA. He is a member of FIFA and CAF Football Committees. He also serves as a Match Commissioner and General Coordinator for CAF and FIFA sanctioned tournaments.

In February 2006 he was named “Director for International Relations” for the Ghana national football team. He is the founder and General Secretary of the Professional Footballers Association of Ghana. Baffoe is also a FIFA Ambassador for campaign against racism, a FIFA ambassador for SOS Children’s Village and an ambassador for Play Soccer Ghana.



Baffoe is married to Kalsoume Sinare, one of Ghana’s finest actresses, and they both have three children, Shaquille, Boukeem and Keisheira. Baffoe is the brother of German actress, Liz Baffoe, who is famous for her role in the German TV series.