Stars will be missing at CHAN 2016
For the first time in the history of the Championship of African Nations (CHAN), the local Black Stars would conspicuously be missing in the 2016 edition to be hosted by Rwanda after a disappointing campaign saw a more prepared Ivorian side snatch the slot from the claws of Ghana.
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Indeed, 2015 should be a year Coach Maxwell Konadu and his charges must quickly consign to history, having previously established themselves among the superpowers of the CHAN competition.
Ghana’s record in the competition remains enviable to many nations following their sterling performance that earned them silver in the maiden edition hosted by Cote d’Ivoire and bronze two years ago in South Africa.
Not only would Ghanaians miss the chance of watching their stars raise the country’s flag aloft but their absence could also be a major blow to the competition which has often counted on their presence and prowess to draw fans to the stadium, particularly in South Africa where Ghana’s performance in the World Cup won the country a lot of admiration across the continent.
The Elephants of Cote d’ Ivoire truncated Ghana’s dreams during a two-leg qualifier which exposed Ghana’s poor preparation and haphazard manner in which players were hurriedly assembled just for the competition without recourse to long- term planning.
Indeed, it was believed that the local Black Stars shot themselves in the foot with the opportunity for them to make their fourth continuous appearance in the competition.
After miraculously coming from a goal deficit to desperately beat the Ivoirians 2-1, courtesy a Joel Fameyeh late strike at the Baba Yara Stadium, the expectation among many Ghanaians was that the Stars would guard their slim victory to book a ticket for the championship.
Unfortunately, that was not to be as the Ivoirians went into the return leg more prepared and tactically disciplined to eventually stun the Stars through a Boua Koffi Davy’s 35th minute goal that ensured they were bundled out of the competition.
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Therefore, early this year (January 16-February 7) when players of countries such as the host, Rwanda, Zambia, Angola, Morocco, Tunisia, Nigeria, Guinea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Zimbabwe, DR Congo, Lesotho, Uganda and Mali battle to engrave the name of their respective countries in the history books, Ghanaian players would be watching on television.
The distraction
Ghana’s no-show at the competition has been blamed on many factors which, arguably, included the distraction that came about as regards to the renaming of the national team. Ahead of the game, it was the contention that Coach Konadu and his charges felt distracted by the issue of renaming the local Black Stars as Black Galaxies.
The idea, which was mooted by the Ghana Football Association (GFA), was said to have been tabled before the Ministry of Youth and Sports for consideration and, according to the GFA, it was to reflect the many local talents in the team.
Although the players were not directly involved, it became a source of distraction as that agenda was being pursued by Fred Pappoe, the chairman of the management committee of the local Black Stars, instead of concentrating on the needs of the players both physically and spiritually.
Accusation
The team and the head coach came under a barrage of attack from the public and pundits for their failure to respond to the roll call for the first time since the competition was first played in 2009.
While the coach was accused of ineptitude in managing the team, others blamed him for the poor quality of players he selected to represent the country. Various names were bandied around for not deserving to be part of the team.
Way forward
The embarrassing manner in which the Black Stars were kicked out of the competition once again brought to the fore the lack of attention paid by the authorities to the issue of planning.
Indeed, when the team returned with a woeful result upon invitation to play in the COSAFA Cup in South Africa, it was expected that it would mark the emergence of a total transformation by handlers of the team.
Ghana failed to record any win at that competition, losing 2-1 and 3-0 to Madagascar and Zambia at the quarter-finals and semi-finals respectively. The widely held opinion was that the coach would work to transform the team by recomposing the constituents by casting his net wider in search of other talents.
Instead, a few old guards became casualties where they were overlooked for other players whose presence added very little to the improvement of the team.
Sincerely, the practice of quickly assembling players whenever there was a competition had been the major bane of the team in the past year and whereas other countries always kept their teams together over a longer period, the opposite was what pertained in Ghana.
Even when they were assembled, they were barely introduced to serious international warm up matches.
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In the New Year, until authorities revisit their approach to dealing with the local Stars, we will continue to witness a downward spiral of the fortunes of the local Black Stars.
The exodus of local talents also stripped the league of quality stars with Sudan and DR Congo becoming major destinations of Ghanaian talents, aside the droves to Europe and other Asian countries.
Certainly, if these Africa countries have the financial clout to bait our top local stars then there is the need to take a second look at our league and the requisite remuneration that would create an enticing environment to retain a greater chunk of the top stars from seeking greener pastures elsewhere.