Ghana cannot compete with hope alone, Sports Minister tells GFA

Ghana's Sports and Recreation Minister, Kofi Adams, has warned that the country cannot rely on hope if it wants to build a football system capable of competing with the world's best.

Speaking at the Ghana Football Association's 32nd Ordinary Congress in Prampram on Thursday, Adams urged football stakeholders to focus on implementing long-term development plans rather than expecting success without deliberate action.

His remarks come as the Ghana Premier League continues to face concerns over its competitiveness and ability to attract fans ahead of the new season.

The minister pointed to Morocco and South Africa as examples of countries that have built structured football systems capable of producing sustained results.

“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, as you have in Morocco, maybe you have in South Africa, and just hoping,” he added.

He stressed that Ghana must ensure that policies and decisions approved by the GFA are put into practice.

“We must make sure the documents you approve here are implemented, and we don’t have any other person to do so but us.”

Adams argued that modern football success is built on intentional planning at every level, from talent identification and coaching to sports science, player data and competition exposure.

“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," he added.

The minister said Ghana must move away from leaving football development to chance and instead establish systems that consistently identify, develop and transition players into elite football.