We must have a comprehensive plan for national teams - Mustapha Ussif

Mustapha Ussif, the Minister-nominee for Youth and Sports has stressed the need for the country to have a comprehensive plan for the development of football.

According to him, the country must follow the German module which has formed the bedrock of the success of clubs and national teams.

He promised to engage stakeholders in the football industry to carve out plans aimed at obtaining short, medium and long terms benefits.

“Our performance when it comes to football is something we have to look at as a country. What I have observed is that the preparations for tournaments are done in the year of the tournament. Given the opportunity by this house, I will engage the key stakeholders, the federations like GFA and NSA to see if we can have a plan.

“In 2000 when Germany went to the Euros and performed badly, they come around at roundtable to see how they can improve their football. So the decision was to set up technical centres in their counties and to harness talent. In 2014, fourteen years on, Germany won the World Cup”.

He further reiterated the need for national teams to win trophies in international competitions.

He noted that winning trophies will improve Ghana’s ranking on both CAF and FIFA rankings.

“Once we are winning trophies, it will help us improve on the national ranking”, he said.