Nii Lantey Vanderpuye, former Minister for sports
Former Minister of Sports, Nii Lantey Vanderpuye, has disclosed that former Black Stars head coach Kwasi Appiah informed him a week in advance about how Sudan would defeat Ghana.
In a surprising turn of events, Sudan drew with Ghana in Accra and then defeated them 2-0 in Libya, a result that all but sealed Ghana’s failure to qualify for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
Although Sudan entered the game as clear underdogs, Vanderpuye revealed in an interview with Kessben Sports about how confident Appiah was in the days leading up to the match.
According to him, Appiah wanted to use the opportunity to prove that the Black Stars were no longer an elite team.
“A week before the match, I was with Kwasi Appiah, and he told me there was no way Ghana would be able to beat Sudan because the spirit within the Ghana team is dead. He wanted to use this as an opportunity to show Ghanaians the flaws within their team,” Vanderpuye stated.
Vanderpuye also highlighted how the decline in fan support has been a major factor in the Black Stars’ crisis.
“The love and happiness with which people used to follow the national team have diminished. The national team is in this crisis because the spirit of Ghanaians is no longer behind the team. That’s why they lost against Sudan,” he further explained.
Following Sudan’s victory, Ghana needed to win their remaining two matches and hope for favorable results elsewhere to qualify.
However, they failed to secure a win in either game, resulting in their elimination from the 2025 AFCON.
Meanwhile, the Ghana Football Association’s proposed stakeholders’ meeting to address the challenges facing football in Ghana has been postponed.
FKA/MA
