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Daily Maverick
30-06-2025
- Sport
- Daily Maverick
Building a winning system – Unlocking Ghana's football potential for economic and social growth
In July 2010, as the vuvuzelas roared across Johannesburg, the hopes of a continent rested on the shoulders of Asamoah Gyan. With one penalty kick, Ghana could have become the first African nation to reach a World Cup semifinal. He missed. And while Uruguay celebrated, Africa mourned. But that moment — heartbreaking as it was — signalled something extraordinary: Ghana had arrived. Not just as a participant, but as a contender. Fifteen years later, the deeper question lingers: Why haven't we done more with that global capital? In a world where people earn unconventionally from TikTok to tech start-ups, why isn't Ghana strategically monetising its most beloved, most watched, and arguably most exportable asset: football? The answer lies not merely in sports, but in systems — or rather, their absence. Ghana's football story is world class. We've won the Africa Cup of Nations four times. Our under-17s dominated the world in the 1990s. We've produced stars like Abedi Pelé, Michael Essien, Asamoah Gyan and, more recently, Thomas Partey and Mohammed Kudus. Yet their success stories remain largely individual. We have yet to build a system that translates individual excellence into collective, structural progress. The real problem: no functional football development system Football in Ghana is celebrated, not capitalised. Loved, but not leveraged. It remains entertainment, not enterprise. What we lack is a coordinated development ecosystem that converts footballing talent into structured economic, educational, and national outcomes. This disconnect reveals five interlinked failures: Policy failure There is no politically committed, operational strategy linking football to youth employment, education, or national branding. Countries like Senegal have explored this linkage. The Diambars Institute, founded by football professionals including Patrick Vieira, combines academic training with elite football instruction. How it emerged, who drove it, and how it continues to function are questions we should be interrogating, not just to replicate, but to learn from. Institutional fragmentation Key ministries and agencies, including Youth and Sports, Education, and Finance, as well as the Ghana Football Association, operate in silos. No shared targets, no coordinated budgets. The result? No pipeline. No plan. According to the Auditor-General's 2022 report, the Ministry of Youth and Sports failed to fully disburse the budgeted support to community football initiatives. Meanwhile, the Ghana Football Association has faced recurring transparency issues in its financial reporting, which has undermined trust with both the public and private sector investors. Germany faced a similar breakdown after its Euro 2000 debacle. In response, it mandated that all top-tier clubs create licensed academies tied to education. Backed by €680-million, it built a pipeline that produced Thomas Müller and Manuel Neuer. By 2014, it wasn't just winning trophies, it was reaping the rewards of an adaptive, learning-driven system. Incentive failure There is little reason for local investors or retired players to build domestic football systems when bureaucracy is opaque, and returns are uncertain. The recent MTN FA Cup final — marred by controversy — only reinforces why some hesitate. Yet, models like Côte d'Ivoire's ASEC Mimosas and Académie MimoSifcom show that football can be both a business and a development tool. Its academy has produced global stars (think Yaya Touré, Gervinho and Emmanuel Eboué), reinvested earnings, and sustained a world-class pipeline. We must ask: What allowed that ecosystem to thrive? And who enabled it? Take also, for example, 13-year-old Camden Schaper, a South African prodigy nurtured at SuperSport United's academy in Pretoria. The club's system — scouting talent from Safa tournaments, offering free education, life-skills training, and elite medical and coaching support — echoes the kind of dual-purpose model Ghana needs. Under this structure, Schaper captained the under‑11s on an unbeaten Spanish tour, drew interest from Sporting Lisbon by age eight, and logged five-star performances in Blackburn's youth ranks before Chelsea reportedly bid £700,000 for him. Yet despite this nurturing environment, he and his family relocated to the UK in 2023 to pursue his dreams, raising compelling questions such as: What stops a system from retaining its talent? If Ghana is to build not just pipelines but ecosystems, we need to understand that question deeply. Who decides when talent leaves? What local capacity was exhausted? And how can pilot models surface those insights in real time. Capability and learning deficit Public agencies often lack the necessary tools and planning systems to implement effective reform. Worse, we've failed to reflect on and learn from our history — the 1991 and 1995 youth triumphs, as well as the 2010 World Cup run — all have vanished into nostalgia without substantive reform. Why it matters: football as industrial policy In the UK, sport contributes more than £99-billion to GDP and supports more than one million jobs. In 2021 alone, sports activities added £53.6-billion in direct Gross Value Added. However, the UK's success isn't just about output; it's about the process. Coalition-building, smart regulation, and patient investment created the conditions for monetisation. We need to understand how they got there, not just what they built. Equally, we must study failure. South Africa's 2010 World Cup offers a cautionary tale. Despite adding 0.5% to GDP and creating temporary jobs, the benefits were highly uneven. Infrastructure served already-wealthy areas. Fifa's rigid sponsorship system allegedly sidelined local entrepreneurs. And tourism returns were dismal. Scholars like Mirele de Aragao argue that the real cost was what was not funded: education, healthcare, and employment systems. The question then becomes, what if we saw football not as frivolous, but as strategic? Where might we begin? Learning, not prescribing A few entry points worth exploring: Could a cross-ministry task force define shared Key Performance Indexes for football and youth employment? Could dual-purpose academies become national learning labs? Could diaspora players co-finance infrastructure through matched public funds? Could football-linked tourism (e.g., Abedi Pele museum) become a new export product? Could a national football data system create value for scouts, clubs, and broadcasters? These are not silver bullets. They're prompts — experiments to be piloted, adapted, or abandoned based on what we learn. None promise transformation alone. But together they could offer iterative learning loops that will quite literally change the game for Ghana and Ghanaians. That's where real reform starts. We've played enough exhibition matches Ghana has the talent. The passion. Even the capital. What it lacks is a system. Football is more than a sport in Ghana. It is identity. Unity. Soft power. But soft power without structure is sentiment. If we want jobs, revenue, and national pride, we must build institutions that treat football not as nostalgia, but as a strategic asset. Reform doesn't begin with blueprints; it starts with confronting uncomfortable truths, asking the right questions, and learning our way forward. Football can be a test case for something bigger — a model for how we rebuild broken systems by building better ones, bit by bit, match by match. The missed penalty in 2010 was painful. However, the greater tragedy would be to continue missing the point. It's time to be strategic, intentional and committed to the sport Ghanaians claim to love so dearly. DM
New York Times
02-04-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Ghana, Nigeria, Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago to compete in soccer tournament in London
Ghana, Nigeria, Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago will compete in a men's football tournament in London later this year. The Ghana Football Association (GFA) confirmed on Wednesday that the four nations will play in the Unity Cup in late May, following the conclusion of the domestic European season. Advertisement The two Caribbean sides will compete in the first semi-final on Tuesday, May 27 with the two west African teams playing each other a day later. The respective losers will then play a bronze medal match on Saturday, May 31 with the winners facing each other in the final later that day. All four nations have large diasporas within the UK. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) stated in the 2021 census that 271,000 people in the UK identified as Nigerian, with 113,000 identifying as Ghanaian. In 2007, the Jamaica High Commission stated that there were 800,000 people in the UK who were born in Jamaica or of Jamaican descent. The ONS' 2013 census said there were 25,000 Trinidadians living in the UK. 'The Unity Cup is a tournament that really does evoke the often-used phrase 'an event that goes beyond sport',' said Andy Howes, co-director of competition organiser AfroSport. 'But with the array of elite stars and the profile of the teams involved, this event is not only important in terms of its cultural significance but also reflects the growing commercial importance of African and Caribbean football, as well as the growing demographic of black football fans within English football.' The tournament begins just a few days after the weekend on which the Premier League, La Liga, Ligue 1 and Serie A seasons conclude, while the Bundesliga campaign ends 10 days before the first semi-final. The Unity Cup previously took place in 2004, with Nigeria, Jamaica and Republic of Ireland taking part in a round-robin tournament. Nigeria were the champions after winning both of their games. All of the matches in the 2004 tournament took place at Charlton Athletic's The Valley. The GFA release did not specify where games will be played this year, only that they will be in London. Nigeria are the highest-ranked team of the quartet, placing 44 in the latest FIFA world rankings. Jamaica are next at 62, with Ghana at 77 and Trinidad & Tobago at 102. The games come just over a week before Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago compete in Concacaf World Cup qualifiers in early June. (Pius Utomi Ekpei/AFP via Getty Images)
Yahoo
30-01-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Ghana bring in Schafer as Black Stars technical advisor
The Ghana Football Association has brought in Africa Cup of Nations-winning coach Winfried Schafer as part of a revamp of its coaching set-up. The 75-year-old German, who guided Cameroon to continental glory in 2002, has been appointed as director of football. He will also serve as technical advisor for the Black Stars alongside head coach Otto Addo as the West Africans bid to improve their fortunes. Ghana failed to qualify for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations and will miss the finals for the first time since 2004, while they sit second in their 2026 Fifa World Cup qualifying group. Only the group winners are guaranteed a place at the tournament in North America next year. The Ghana FA has tasked Schafer with developing and implementing long-term strategic plans, leading youth development and ensuring "consistent high performances" by national sides. Meanwhile, Ghana Under-20 coach Desmond Ofei has become assistant coach of the Black Stars, Kris Perquy has been appointed as team psychologist and fellow Belgian Gregory de Grauwe will serve as chief video analyst.
BBC News
30-01-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Ghana bring in Schafer as Black Stars technical advisor
The Ghana Football Association has brought in Africa Cup of Nations-winning coach Winfried Schafer as part of a revamp of its coaching 75-year-old German, who guided Cameroon to continental glory in 2002, has been appointed as director of will also serve as technical advisor for the Black Stars alongside head coach Otto Addo as the West Africans bid to improve their failed to qualify for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations and will miss the finals for the first time since 2004, while they sit second in their 2026 Fifa World Cup qualifying the group winners are guaranteed a place at the tournament in North America next Ghana FA has tasked Schafer with developing and implementing long-term strategic plans, leading youth development and ensuring "consistent high performances" by national Ghana Under-20 coach Desmond Ofei has become assistant coach of the Black Stars, Kris Perquy has been appointed as team psychologist and fellow Belgian Gregory de Grauwe will serve as chief video analyst.
Egypt Today
29-01-2025
- Sport
- Egypt Today
Veteran German coach Schafer appointed to help ailing Ghana
ACCRA, Jan 29 (Reuters) - Ghana have appointed former Africa Cup of Nations winning coach Winfried Schafer as a technical adviser to their team after failing to qualify for the 2025 finals in Morocco. The 75-year-old German-born Schafer led Cameroon to the African title in 2002 and also previously coached Jamaica and Thailand. He established his coaching credentials at Karlsruhe in the Bundesliga. Schafer will assist coach Otto Addo as Ghana revamped their technical team ahead of the resumption of World Cup qualification in March. Addo has been kept on despite Ghana missing out of the Cup of Nations finals for the first time in the last 11 editions after a disastrous qualifying campaign, where they failed to win any of their six matches and finished bottom of Group F behind Angola, Sudan and Niger. 'In his new role, Schafer will not only provide technical guidance but also oversee the development of football in Ghana as the Director of Football,' said a statement from the Ghana Football Association. 'This role will also require Schafer to develop and implement long-term strategic plans for the association, provide technical guidance in line with Ghana's football philosophy, provide general leadership for youth development and ensure consistent high performance by teams. His experience coaching at both club and national team level will undoubtedly be valuable in this position.' Ghana next meet Chad and Madagascar in World Cup qualifiers in March. They share top place in Group I with only the group winner advancing to the 2026 finals in North America.
