'There’s no elderly figure at home' – Kwaku Yeboah flares up over appointment of Otto Addo, Paintsil, others

Dan Kwaku Yeboah, the Head of Sports at Despite Media, has reckoned that the appointment of a new technical team for the Black Stars in spite of the issues highlighted by the Save Ghana Football protestors is indicative of the absence of what he perceives to be proper leadership at the Ministry of Youth and Sports, and the Ghana Football Association.

Dan Kwaku Yeboah believes that if the country had leaders in the football space who were concerned with the development of the game, the plug would have been pulled on the GFA's decision to appoint Otto Addo and his cohorts amid the challenges facing the sport.

In an Onua FM interview, he lamented that the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the Parliamentary Select Committee on Sports should have demanded reports from the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations before allowing the FA to proceed with the appointment of a new technical team.

Kwaku Yeboah likened the situation to a doctor recommending drugs for a patient without diagnosing him or her to ascertain the peculiar challenge he or she is facing.

Owing to the supposed lack of due diligence in the appointment of the new coaching team, Dan Kwaku Yeboah is uncertain whether the Black Stars' fortunes will witness an upturn under the new team.

"It's an indication that there is no elder at home. It shows that when it comes to the running of football in our country, no one cares. You can't send a patient to a hospital and prescribe medications for him when there has been no diagnosis.

"It has never happened in the history of this country that after a tournament, we proceed to appoint new coaches without the reports of the previous technical, playing and medical teams. If the sports minister and parliament were in control, he would have demanded all these reports before allowing the FA to appoint a new coach," he said.

Turning his focus to Otto Addo, the ace sports journalist wondered why the former Black Stars winger, who claimed to have his future secured with German Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund, has turned around to accept the role after exiting the position in December 2022.

"It's about time Ghanaians stop following the Black Stars with their hearts. Otto Addo told us he and his family don't see their future in Ghana, so why the sudden U-turn? Do they now see their future in Ghana? What has changed in less than three months? Does Otto Addo meet the criteria set by the GFA?" he quizzed.

The Ghana Football Association confirmed Otto Addo's return as Black Stars coach on Friday, March 15, 2024.

He will begin his second stint with the Black Stars with a game against Nigeria on March 22 before taking on Uganda four days later.

The former winger will serve alongside Joseph Laumann and John Paintsil as assistants and Fatawu Dauda as the goalkeepers' coach.

EK/AE