Is There A Future For Local Coaches?

The hiring of expatriate coaches to manage the national teams in Africa is alarming. Some say many African coaches have limited expertise to manage the national teams due to the lack of training, experience and opportunities to manage the national teams. Even with the problems confronting these coaches, they are able to guide the local clubs to win trophies and play attractive brand of football which excites the supporters and football pundits. African football seems to be following the path of its national economies, so much resources and human talent but always looking to the West for help.

Most European coaches are products of the same leagues that most Africans play for. Africans and Europeans attend the same coaching courses yet African FAs’ still rate foreign coaches above their own coaches and are happy to pay them a far higher salary. It is the only continent that fails to recognize and exploits its footballing expertise for its own benefit.

In terms of experience and opportunities, the foreign coaches stand tall regardless of the coach's pedigree. They are more creative in the ways they coach, handle and manage the national teams due to the early exposure they get. The various Football Associations in Africa tend to give more support to the foreign based coaches as compared to the local coaches which is unfair to them.

Moreover, the only way you can learn to swim is to get in the water. If African Football Associations want African coaches to be better, they should give them the job, provide salaries similar to those given to foreign coaches and be as non-interfering as possible. A local coach has several advantages over a foreign coach with the culture and language and an appreciation of the national football history.

Most African teams have failed to improve under foreign based coaches and there is nothing to suggest that it will ever improve. Let's face it. A good coach in Europe would never leave for Africa. Why should he? Our own resources and talent can bring the national teams success on the biggest stages. A true reflection was in 2013 when the Nigerian National Team (The Super Eagles) won the African Cup by a using a local coach. This practically means if we are able to give the local coaches the needed support and respect they can bring glory to our National teams. Ghana’s Africa Cup of Nation titles have been won by local coaches such as Charles Kumi Gyamfi who won the cup with the black stars in 1963 and 1965. He was one of Ghana’s most successful coaches in the country and will be happy in his grave if a Ghanaian coach could achieve the same fate or better it.

I think it’s high time we give local coaches the chance and support needed to succeed with the national team. Though Avram Grant is the highest foreign coach the nation has hired, it will be beneficiary to hire our own in order to develop and give young and upcoming coaches hope for the future. The future is bright for local coaches in Ghana and the rest of African countries.

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