Don’t throw out Muntari, KP-Boateng with the bath-water
This is a concluding of Ekow Asmah’s article which was published last Wednesday.
At the recent press conference convened by the GFA, a bad example of lawlessness was set, in full view of the GFA president, Kwesi Nyantakyi, by a number of misguided elements, singing the praises of same, a la apolitical rally, interrupting proceedings of the conference multiple times, without being ejected from it.
Notably, in the course of the frequent disruption by members of that group that had no press accreditation, some members of the press relayed that they felt intimidated by the presence of, and the lack of civility of that group, without any condemnation from the GFA chair.
It is worthy to note that immediately it ended, that disruptive group loudly repeated some of their earlier declarations, “We still maintain”, while displaying a banner of Mr. Nyantakyi, bearing inscriptions such as “We still maintain” and “Hattrick”, alluding to the GFA chair’s achievement of guiding Ghana to three straight world cup qualifications.
That capped an afternoon marked by his hedging, justification for payments of money to spiritualists in this scientific era, refusal to declare payments made to members of the management committee at the World Cup, and a bogus claim by the FA boss that he did not know how much tax was paid on the $3m airlifted to Brazil for payment of appearance fees for the players.
It did not help that his body language seemed to convey arrogance and invincibility, a poor reflection of the quality of his person.
We are all products of our environment. I will give you a few names in my field: Kofi Badu, Joe Aggrey; Felix Abayateye, Sammy Okaitey, Samuel Kissiedu; and the late Willie Kwarteng: I have been taught very well, and have learnt through the direct and indirect mentorship, tutelage and the writings of the aforementioned towers of sports writing, a great foundation that has shaped me and put paid to designs of misfits in sports administration in Ghana that have sought to bribe this scribe.
On the other hand, if one emerges from an atmosphere of immunity and invincibility, where transparency and accountability sound strange to the ears, it could lead to self-destructive, even destructive tendencies.
Ex-sports minister, Elvis Afriyie-Ankrah, has traded dignity for indignity, resulting in ignominy, a potential case of immaturity.
Fortunately, President John Mahama has kicked him upstairs to a position where he would be of no more harm that he has been to the nation, having overseen the shame and waste that characterised Ghana’s contingent to the World Cup.
Likewise, Akwasi Appiah, the football great that qualified Ghana for the World Cup, has soiled his underwear, so to speak, thanks to his biased selection, favouritism, fielding players out of position, not standing up for the players in the appearance-fee saga, mishandling of the players, zero-impact substitutions, and his incompetence at the World Cup level, evidenced by the results.
By masterminding Ghana’s first round exit, inspite of star players he describes as world class, Appiah has negated the nation’s gains, and indignified the bequest of Ghana’s quarter-final berth at the world cup stage.
Yet, I contend he, deserves another chance. However, Appiah should not take charge of the Black Stars, as he has displayed a level of incompetence inconsistent with excellence at the World Cup level.
Since his level of expertise does not rise to excellence at the World Cup, he should be re-assigned a lower-tier assignment, which I contend is the national Olympic soccer team, Black Meteors, especially since the Olympic Games are only two years away, and the qualifiers too close to start all over, again.
Also, like Afriyie-Ankrah and Akwasi Appiah, Sulley Muntari and Kevin-Prince Boateng are children of Ghana that should not be thrown out with the bathwater.
I expect our leaders, exercising great wisdom and understanding, to wipe the slate clean, appoint a world class coach, not a sub-par coach – and let that world class coach determine which players constitute the next corps of the Black Stars, without bias.
As long as Muntari and Boateng (given the mitigating circumstances) qualify to play for the nation solely on the basis of their skill level, it is not up to any politician, FA official, the media or members of the public to decide their fate. It is only a world class coach - that the nation must search the world for, and appoint – that can decide the fate of those two players, in particular.
Discipline must start from the top. So, I appeal to President John Mahama to start from there, stressing the IMPERATIVE OF DISCIPLINE and great quality, besides proven managerial and soccerly expertise, not arrogance, spiritualism and immaturity shielded by immunity.
By the way, is it not time to involve Abedi Pele and Azumah Nelson, two national icons that conquered the world in their respective fields, football and boxing, in the administration of sports in this country, instead of populating the ranks with politicians?