Dreaming Big: President Akufo Addo tasks Black Stars to win 2022 Afcon and reach World Cup semis

Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, who is the President of Ghana has tasked the senior national team, the Black Stars to win the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations [Afcon] that will be hosted in Cameroon.

Ghana has booked a place in the tournament for the 9th consecutive time on a roll.

The Black Stars have not won the Africa Cup of Nations since 1982, losing in three different finals since then.

Having already booked their spot at next year’s event, the Youth and Sports Minister has revealed the team will need $25 million to execute successful participation in that campaign, as well as the 2022 world cup qualifiers, set to begin in June this year.

The President pledged government’s commitment to providing $10 million of the required amount and charged corporate Ghana to help shore up the deficit before tasking the Black Stars to repay the nation’s resourcefulness with great performances at the two competitions.

Akufo Addo also stressed the need to win the Afcon and also added that the team to go a step further than their quarter-final appearance in the 2010 FIFA World Cup by reaching the semi-finals of the Qatar 2022 edition.

“The target is to bring the cup home by winning the AFCON 2022. We must go a step further than our second-place finishes in 1992, 2010 and 2015 and end the 40-year drought for a title," Akufo-Addo said at a special breakfast meeting at the Jubilee House on Monday.

“We must also reach at least the semi-finals of the world cup in Qatar. Our exploits in 2010, where we reached the quarter-finals in South Africa, tell us that once prepared, we have the quality and the talent to match any of the best teams in the world.

“The task might seem daunting, but it is exactly not insurmountable,” the President said.

Qualification for the World Cup will start in June, with the Black Stars drawn against South Africa, Zimbabwe and Ethiopia in Group G for the second round.

The third round will see the 10 group winners from the second round drawn into five home-and-away ties. The winners of each tie will advance to the tournament.

Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in the meeting stated that government will provide $10 million of the required amount with a 5-member committee, headed by the Sports Minister, expected to raise the remaining $15 million.

The committee includes deputy minister of youth and sports designate, Evans Bobie Opoku, Ghana football Association head Kurt Okraku, head coach Charles Akonnor and former Ghana international Sammy Kuffuor.