Citi Sports can confirm that the Executive Council of the Ghana Football Association will, at its next meeting finalize the immediate dismissal of Chris Hughton as Black Stars head coach.
A number of the members are said to have been approached to vote in favour of the decision during the meeting scheduled for November 10, 2023.
This operation to sack the former Newcastle gaffer started in Nashville during the two-game friendly tour in the United States of America by the Black Stars.
Per Citi Sports checks, meetings have been scheduled with government officials today to court support ahead of the ExCo meeting.
George Boateng is the FA’s preferred successor with the likes of Maxwell Konadu and Ibrahim Tanko mentioned as potential interims as the men’s senior national team take on Madagascar and Comoros in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
The GFA prefers George Boateng because he is “open-minded” and a “safe” option to oversee the two World Cup qualifiers while a substantive option is considered.
WHY DOES THE GFA WANT HUGHTON GONE?
The key reason behind this decision, according to reliable sources is that the Ghana Football Association is not convinced by the tactics of the Irish.
Some key actors in the GFA were reportedly livid after Ghana’s humiliating defeat to the United States of America after an abysmal display of Mexico some days before.
These key actors have for a long time been unimpressed by Chris Hughton’s tactical approach to games and believe strongly he is not the right man to lead Ghana to a fifth Africa Cup of Nations glory.
Furthermore, there is a huge communication gap between Chris Hughton and the GFA boss, Kurt Okraku as it was with the former head coach, Charles Akonnor who was sacked after being labelled as “immature”.
Another key factor is the decision to exclude the Black Stars captain, Andre Ayew from the previous international friendly when the team lost sorely to Mexico and USA.
Also, a number of the “senior” players are said to be against his approach to games and do not believe in him which has resulted in the recent run of poor results.
IS IT A GOOD TIME TO SACK CHRIS HUGHTON?
The biggest hurdle in sacking Chris Hughton is the compensation. The government already owes two previous coaches, CK Akonnor and Milovan Rajevac, two coaches sacked in the last 24 months.
Checks by Citi Sport have, however, revealed that the Sports Ministry is reluctant to support the decision to sack Chris Hughton.
The Sports Ministry under the leadership of Mustapha Ussif does not approve of this dismissal but is equally unimpressed by Hughton who has already qualified the team for next year’s Africa Cup of Nations.
Also, the Black Stars will take on Madagascar at the Kumasi Sports Stadium on November 17, 2023, and the time window does not favour anyone considering the team for the game has not been named yet.
WHAT NEXT?
The next 48 hours will be key and a decision will be made very soon to either keep Chris Hughton or dismiss him.
The general feeling in and around the governing body, GFA is that they want the 64-year-old Irish gone as quickly as possible.
