Former Sports Minister, Elvis Afriyie Ankrah
Former Sports Minister Elvis Afriyie Ankrah has called for forgiveness for the Black Stars‘ failure to qualify for the 2025 AFCON to be held in Morocco.
Ghana finished last in Group F and missed out on the continental championship for the first time in 20 years after failing to win any of their six qualifying matches.
“I think that as a country, we never actually exorcised the issues that came about during the 2014 World Cup,” he said.
“I think that there was too much focus on the drama. Of course, when issues happen, it’s news. But the root causes were not dealt with. So, I think that as a country, we need to forgive them; we need to let them go. I know what I’m talking about. Any adult person will understand what I’m saying. As a country, we need to let them go.”
Speaking exclusively to GHOne TV, the former Sports Minister emphasised that there is a disconnection in the Black Stars team.
“You see, the coach said something; nobody has paid attention to it. He said part of the reason why they lost the Niger match was because of the hatred of Ghanaians towards him and the team. And people didn’t pay attention to that. Now, that has a lot of implications, even for him.”
“But if you want to look at it from that perspective, when I watched Kudus going to play the penalty, what were the chants? Away, away. So there’s a disconnection somewhere in the country. Every nation has a soul.”
The four-time champions will channel their attention to the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in March 2025 after failing to qualify for the 2025 AFCON to be held in Morocco.
