Akonnor to help transform Accra Athletic
Former Black Stars coach Charles Kwablan Akonnor has pledged his commitment to ushering in a new era of success for Division One League club, Accra Athletic FC, as it continues with its journey into becoming a formidable side in Ghana.
Akonnor's appointment as the club's Technical Director comes with a multifaceted role, which includes selecting the head coach, orchestrating talent acquisition, and providing invaluable technical counsel to the club's coaching staff.
Confirming his new role, the 48-year-old coach explained that he was not the club's head coach as had been widely publicised by a section of the media. Instead, he was engaged as technical director of the Tema-based club.
According to him, though the club was playing in the second-tier league, their primary focus wouldn't be to gain promotion to the elite league but to groom the best of local talents for opportunities in the bigger leagues in Europe and other parts of the world.
He explained that was the vision the owners of the club sold to him and he realised it was a dream worth pursuing.
Therefore, he decided to buy into it and become part of a process that will offer young people the opportunity to be exposed on a bigger stage.
''I'm acting as a technical director to put things in order and I’m the one appointing coaches or the technical team. We have a coach now, a scout and all the necessary things needed,'' he stated.
Admitting that their recruitment process was slightly delayed, hindered by the closing of the transfer window, Akonnor remained optimistic about the upcoming transfer window, foreseeing the chance to bolster the squad with top-tier talent.
“The idea is not necessarily to qualify for the Premier League but to scout and groom players and take them abroad for better exposure which is similar to what WAFA and Right to Dream are doing,” he noted.
Akonnor, once the captain of the Black Stars, later made the transition to become the head coach of the national team, a role he held until he was dismissed from the position in September 2021. With an extensive coaching background, including managing Ghanaian teams like Asante Kotoko, AshantiGold, Hearts of Oak, and Sekondi Eleven Wise since 2009, Akonnor brings a wealth of experience to his new role at Accra Athletic FC.