Appiah’s appointment FA’s choice — Afriyie
The Ghana Football Association (GFA) says the re-appointment of James Kwasi Appiah as the coach of the senior male football team, the Black Stars, is out of its own choice and not an imposition.
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According to the GFA, Appiah very much impressed at the interview last Friday and per the criteria set for the search committee, became the obvious choice to fill the job made vacant by the exit of Israeli Avram Grant.
Appiah’s re-appointment, formally announced by the GFA yesterday, ended the two-month search for a successor to Grant, but confirmed the widespread reports that Kwasi Appiah was the preference of government and it, through the Minister of Youth and Sports and sole representative on the six-man search committee, Dr Owusu Ansah had forced its choice through.
George Kwasi Afriyie, the vice president of the GFA and Chairman of the Black Stars management committee, said Appiah did not only impress at the interview, but he also showed more maturity than he did at the first interview and exhibited that he better understood the dynamics of world football.
Afriyie however, rejected the claim that the association had wasted everyone’s time by going through that search process when members knew it was Kwasi Appiah they wanted, and that they should have gone ahead to re-appoint him when it was obvious that the FA was going to make government have its way.
“The decision to re-appoint Kwasi Appiah was not an imposition. Criteria was set for the search committee and in applying its two-way approach of head hunting and open application, he impressed the most,” Afriyie told the Graphic Sports in an interview yesterday.
“ Nobody from government spoke to me personally on the issue and I don’t think the sole representative on the six-man search team could have imposed his will on the FA.
Mr Afriyie said more importantly, Kwasi Appiah proved that he now better understood the dynamics of world football and national teams, one of the thorny issues that saw what could have been a long lasting first marriage breaking up in 2014.
“Of course, given the reasons for our fall-out when he first took charge of the Black Stars, most of us were apprehensive that would remain a thorny issue, but I must confess that he impressed the interview panel with his submissions and understanding of the dynamics of world football currently, completely erasing any doubt that his second coming would be fraught with the same differences between the two parties,” Mr Afriyie told the Graphic Sports.
Appiah’s contract takes effect from May 1 and will be given an initial two-year renewable deal and in addition to the Stars, will also be in charge of the local Black Stars.
Appiah, who returns to the job with a long-standing relationship with the Stars as a player, former captain and an assistant coach, will also be required to meet with the GFA Executive Committee to appoint his backroom staff.
On his first appointment, he led the Stars to the 2013 AFCON where they finished fourth, qualified the team to their third successive World Cup in Brazil, but incidents at the World Cup and issues arising out of that debacle, eventually led to the termination of Appiah’s contract, though the FA had earlier insisted that Appiah had its backing despite the early exit from Brazil 2014.
Appiah, also nicknamed, Mayele, will be required to prepare his team for his first assignment -- Ghana’s two international friendlies against the USA and Mexico in Texas, USA on the next FIFA international break in June.