Football administrators should involve Coaches in Policymaking

Two former players of the national team, the Black Stars, Emmanuel Anue Kofie and Cecil Jones Attuquayefio, have called for the involvement of soccer coaches in policy formulation pertaining to football in order to reshape the future of the game in the country.

They told GNA Sports in Accra that for sometime now, Ghanaian coaches have had limited say in policies intended to reshape the development of soccer. Mr Kofie, kept the posts for the Stars between 1966 and 1969, played for the national academicals team, Accra Great Olympics and later Kumasi Asante Kotoko, before moving to New York Cosmos in the USA.

He is currently the Athlete Counsellor and Recruiter for Essex County College and also the head-coach of Newport Technical High School, all in the US. Mr Kofi said it is not good enough for coaches to be left out of the decision making process only to be told to implement such policies.

He regretted that some players do not respect local coaches saying if such coaches are give the right orientation and encouragement they could handle the Black Stars to recapture the country's glorious past in soccer.

"In this world of high technology, coaches need to be sent abroad for refresher courses to be abreast with modern trends." On his plans for Ghana soccer, Mr Kofie said he is currently in touch with the sports authorities on the role he could play in reshaping the country's soccer.

Tracing the history of coaching in Ghana, Jones Attuquayefio, coach of Accra Hearts of Oak, said the first three coaches of the national team were George Einslay, Shoberg and Ember.

He said later, the late Mr Ohene Djan, then Director of Sports, thought it wise for the old players to take over the team and consequently sent 11 of them abroad for coaching courses. "Among them were Mr C. K. Gyamfi and Ben Koufie, the current FA Chairman, who were then attached to local clubs on their return and later the national teams.

"They, together with those who were turned out from the Winneba Sports College in the 60's were employed by the National Sport Council and were the only group allowed to handle national teams."

He said this situation was discontinued and the coaches were shut out from any of the national teams until Sam Ardey broke the myth on his return from Germany after a coaching course and won many laurels with Accra Great Olympics and Okwawu United. Coach Attuquayefio commended the GFA for its new policy to give old members of the National team the opportunity to handle the Black Stars but cautioned that this should not be wholesale.