By Dan Bampoe
Ghana football has returned to a familiar political script after two defeats in the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers – a 2-0 loss away to Cote d’Ivoire and a 4-2 home defeat to Gambia.
When the Black Stars win, politicians in power are quick to associate with the success. When they lose, accountability becomes a political exercise with the Ghana Football Association and its President Kurt Okraku placed in the dock.
Both the New Patriotic Party, NPP, and the National Democratic Congress, NDC, have played this role, raising the question of where legitimate oversight ends and interference begins.
History of political blame
On November 19, 2024, at a campaign rally in Akim Oda, then NDC flagbearer John Mahama linked the Black Stars’ failure to qualify for the 2025 AFCON to the NPP government’s record.
He said, “We have lost everything. Even the Black Stars team, which we used as our source of entertainment, is now in its worst state,” and added, “For the past 20 years, anytime it is time for AFCON, the Black Stars will take part. But we have failed to even make it through qualifiers.
We allowed ourselves and the likes of Sudan, a war-torn country that has qualified for AFCON, and Black Stars couldn’t. It is all because of the bad governance we have been subjected to for the past eight years.”
Earlier, in January 2024, NDC parliamentary candidate Edem Agbana alleged that Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko, a prominent figure associated with the NPP, influenced the appointment of Chris Hughton as Black Stars head coach due to their personal relationship.
On the other side, on September 30, 2026, the NPP Minority Caucus in Parliament issued a statement through Vincent Ekow Assafuah, Ranking Member for Youth and Sports Committee.
The statement called for an independent technical and administrative audit of the Black Stars and the structures supporting the national teams. It demanded a review of the GFA’s governance and accountability framework, player selection, technical appointments, national team expenditure and Ghana’s long-term football development strategy.
Seth Panwum, NPP spokesperson on sports and former National Sports Authority CEO, also called for Kurt Okraku to resign, arguing the results reflected deeper problems in management, preparation and technical direction.
The funding argument
A persistent point of friction is the claim that because government finances the national teams, it should control how the GFA is run. The argument is politically attractive because the Black Stars are a national symbol and require substantial public expenditure.
That relationship was clarified in September 2024 when Okraku appeared before Parliament’s Select Committee on Sports after the Save Ghana Football protest.
He rejected the suggestion that government funding for national team activities meant government financing of the GFA’s general operations. He explained that national team expenditure is channelled through the Ministry of Youth and Sports, which handles statutory payments, rather than being paid directly into GFA accounts.
The article also notes a recent political comment by Okraku himself, in which he said, “The reset agenda [of the NDC] has also had a positive impact on the Black Stars.
I am sure His Excellency hasn’t taken notice that beyond his visits before we played against Chad and after that Ghana has not lost any competitive match,” a statement seen as an attempt to please President Mahama that may have opened him up to criticism.
The central argument is that criticism of the GFA President can be legitimate, but political blame after a bad result should not replace a full assessment of governance, administration, development programmes and the conditions created for national teams.
Both NPP and NDC have had time in government to influence sports policy through funding, infrastructure, reforms and institutional safeguards, and their records must be judged on that as well as their public statements.
Ghana football, the piece concludes, does not need an untouchable or politically controlled association. It needs a governing body independent enough to make football decisions without partisan pressure, transparent enough to withstand public scrutiny, and accountable enough to earn public confidence.
Until both parties apply that principle consistently, the GFA will remain stuck in a cycle of political intervention when authority is contested and public accusation when results disappoint.
