Sports and Recreation Minister Kofi Adams has cautioned Ghana’s football stakeholders against relying on hope to develop the country’s football system to international standards.
His comments come as the Ghana Premier League continues to face concerns over its competitiveness, after the league was ranked 100th in the world and 14th in Africa by the International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS).
The league dropped from 92nd position in the previous ranking, highlighting the need for deliberate measures to improve the standard of domestic football.
Speaking at the Ghana Football Association’s 32nd Ordinary Congress ahead of the new season, Kofi Adams said Ghana must learn from countries that have established systems capable of producing sustained results.
He cited Morocco and South Africa as examples of countries that have adopted more deliberate approaches to football development.
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“Sometimes I don’t want to mention names, but it is important to mention names. We can be competing with systems that have been put in place like you have in Morocco, maybe you have in South Africa, and just hoping,” he added.
“We must make sure the documents you approve here are implemented, and we don’t have any other person to do so but us.”
The Minister urged the GFA and other football stakeholders to ensure that policies and documents approved for the development of the game are properly implemented.
He stressed that Ghana must move away from leaving football development to chance and instead establish systems that can consistently identify, develop and transition talent.
“The world has changed. Talent identification is deliberate. Coaching is deliberate. Sports science is deliberate. Competition exposure is deliberate. Player data is deliberate. Transition is deliberate. Everything is deliberate,” Adams said.
“We cannot compete with deliberate systems through hope. No. We cannot hope to achieve what others have done.”
Adams’ comments come as Ghana prepares for the start of another Ghana Premier League season, with stakeholders under pressure to improve the quality and competitiveness of the domestic game.
For the Minister, the priority is clear: Ghana’s football ambitions must be backed by deliberate planning, proper implementation and systems that can deliver results rather than hope alone.
