Kwesi Nyantakyi has done his bit but...
The Ghana Football Association (GFA) has chalked up lot of successes trend of events since Kwesi Nyantakyi took over as its president.
The world’s football governing body, FIFA’s new role in changing the position from the then chairman to president must be highly appreciated, as the new accolade, president, is supposed to evoke fresh air of civility, proficiency and total submission to all followers of the game.Indeed, many have described Mr Nyantakyi as the best material for the task of transforming our football to international level. Yes, the business needs the infectious smiles, an approachable, business-oriented character and love for the service with selfless dedication.
All football associations have their rules and regulations and that is what ensures stability in all federations. Yes, those regulations will not work if the head is rotten, imperfect, weak and inefficient. Luckily, by the grace of God, Mr Nyantakyi is up to the task, and has demonstrated to all and sundry his humility and lovable characteristics. His tenure has seen a great transformation of the senior national team, Black Stars, to the delight of all citizens of the land. Just imagine that since 1970 when FIFA opened her gates to Africa to enjoy various slots for participation in the World Cup, almost every serious soccer nation on the continent had had its fair share of the booty, with a country like Cameroun coming out with overwhelming success with five appearances. But the Black Stars had to wait for decades and seemed forgotten until 2006 when they qualified for the tournament in Germany.
That marked Mr Nyantakyi's success story, and since then the Black Stars have enjoyed two more participation in 2010 in South Africa and 2014 in Brazil. The high profile efforts of the team might have been possible through the hard work of Mr Nyantakyi and his “co-efficient” staff.
Yes, with proper preparation, commitment to duty, sacrifice and the resolve to prove that qualitative football belongs to that land that won the continental championship four times within a space of 19 years, from 1963 and 1982, the results had to be positive. But that efficiency had its limitations, in that despite the effort of the FA boss the highest level the Black Stars had attained was to end up as runners-up at continental championship, something which happened in Angola in 2010 and Equatorial Guinea in 2015.
So in effect, what is seriously missing in the era of Mr Nyantakyi is the lifting of a continental trophy, something a country like Egypt has done seven times, five times after the Black Stars won their fourth one in 1982. However, at the Under-20 level, it was under the era of Mr Nyantakyi that the Black Satellites lifted the World Cup in Egypt in 2009. Coach Sellas Tetteh spoke of the unflinching support the GFA president accorded him and his team in winning the World Youth Cup which was the envy of great world soccer nations like Brazil, Argentina, Germany, Italy, France and England.
If the history of the GFA is chronicled I wonder if any of the past chairmen or presidents for that matter, can beat young Nyantakyi, founder and bankroller of Wa All Stars..
Mr Nyantakyi is in the good books of the Confedration of African Football (CAF). who voted him to be a member of the executive committee, and the game are tipping him as a good candidate to succeed Issa Hayatou, the current CAF president.Kwesi does not seem to have a challenger when it comes to the point of voting for a new president, but if I were him, I would rather resign myself to the continental football and leave the local scene where he has made his mark already. I would make hay while the sun shines and make a great name and respect as a legacy for posterity to appreciate.
