Grant okayed; Konadu to assist

Veteran Israeli coach, Avram Grant, has been endorsed as the man to lead the Black Stars to the 2015 Africa Nations Cup (AFCON) in Equatorial Guinea next January.

The approval as successor to Kwasi Appiah, who was relieved of his job as national coach in September, follows a successful meeting last Friday between the Ghana Football Association (GFA) and the Minister of Youth and Sports, Mr Mahama Ayariga

The FA president, Mr Kwesi Nyantakyi, told the Graphic Sports yesterday that what was now left was for the GFA Executive Committee (ExCo) to ratify Grant’s appointment at its next meeting on Thursday.

He explained that the ExCo had already approved of the coach’s appointment at its last meeting early this month and was only waiting for the Minister to okay the former Chelsea manager so he could be officially announced as the next Stars coach.

“We had a successful meeting with the minister. We briefed him on the details of the agreement reached with Avram Grant and he endorsed it,” Mr Nyantakyi revealed.

“We now have to report back to the Executive Committee after which an official announcement will be made,” he added.

This move is expected to put to rest the heated debate over which coach should take the Stars to the next AFCON.

After the Stars’ qualification last Wednesday, opinion was divided over whether the FA should extend the mandate of stand-in coach, Maxwell Konadu, to lead the team to Equatorial Guinea or go ahead to appoint Grant to prepare the team for the future.

Even before taking over the team, Grant who steered Chelsea to the UEFA Champions League final in 2008, had declared his intention to make Ghana a powerhouse in world football.

In his last interaction with GFA officials in Accra last week, the Israeli trainer promised to work on the psyche of the players in order to have a strong mentality needed to rub shoulders with tough opponents at the big stage.

Last week, Maxwell Konadu also expressed his readiness to work with Coach Grant to achieve laurels for the nation.