The Head of Public Relations and Strategy at the Ghana Football Association (GFA), Neil Armstrong-Mortagbe, has said that their administration has made some progress despite the setbacks.
He stated that the Kurt Okraku-led GFA administration has managed football well in the country, which includes the Black Satellites winning the 2021 African Cup of Nations and qualifying for the 2025 edition as well as the Black Princesses also making it to the Women’s AFCON.
Speaking in an interview with Benjamin Sackey on GhanaWeb TV, Armstrong-Mortagbe admitted that the Black Stars’ performance has been underwhelming over the years, which worries them a lot as GFA officials.
“Nobody at the FA is happy when the teams don’t perform. We feel the pain of the Ghanaians. We empathize with Ghanaians and are doing everything that the FA can do to continue improving. When it’s the Black Stars, it’s like everything is not going well because the Black Stars are their prime brand. We feel their brand,” he said.
The GFA’s Head of Public Relations and Strategy elaborated on some achievements of their administration.
“The other national teams I mentioned are the U20 ladies who qualified for the World Cup. It cannot be said to be non-performance. They performed better than they did in previous World Cups. The U20 team won the AFCON in 2021.
“They missed out on a WAFU win, but they’ve qualified for the AFCON. The Black Queens have qualified back to the Women’s AFCON. All these are progressive and incremental steps that are being made,” he added.
His comments come on the back of attacks directed at the GFA following the Black Stars’ abysmal performance in the 2025 AFCON qualifiers.
After four matches, Ghana are third in Group F with two points. Sudan are in second place with seven points, while Angola lead with twelve points.
Ghana must win against Niger and Angola and hope Sudan lose their remaining matches to secure qualification.
GFA’s Neil Armstrong replies critics over Black Stars performance, gives update on VAR adoption
SB/EK
