Ace sports journalist, Bright Kankam Boadu has disclosed why the Ghana Football Association have move ahead with plans to relieve Chris Hughton of his duties as head coach of the Black Stars.
According to him, the FA initially planned to wait for the outcome of the matches against Madagascar and Comoros on November 17 and November 21 respectively before taking a decision on Chris Hughton.
They have however had a cause to move decisively on Chris Hughton following the squad he presented to them for the game against Madagascar on November 17, 2023.
Kankam Boadu explains that Chris Hughton presented a completely new squad, leaving out some players who allegedly have connections with some influential figures at the FA.
Kankam Boadu explains that Chris Hughton’s squad for Madagascar contains as many as 12 new players as he looks to stamp his authority on the team.
“They planned on sacking Chris Hughton after the two matches but they have decided to do it now after he sent the squad to them. The squad has a lot of changes and some players of FA officials have been omitted from the list”, he said.
Bright Kankam Boadu also kicked against plans to have George Boateng act as interim head coach of the Black Stars until substantive coach is appointed.
“Do they think that we are joking? You are planning on sacking Chris Hughton and leave the team for George Boateng, Didi and Olele. Those three are worse than Chris Hughton. We like joking in this country,” he said.
According to a report by Asaase Radio, the leadership of the GFA has already made their intentions of sacking Chris Hughton known to some Executive Council members to vote for the dismissal.
The report also stated that the GFA is currently waiting on the government’s approval first before deciding on the fate of Chris Hughton since the government is responsible for the compensation of the technical team.
The government’s decision on the dismissal of the coach is expected to be communicated on Thursday, November 9, 2023.
Per the report coach Chris Hughton whose contract as Black Stars head coach expires in February 2024 is aware of the decision the GFA is about to take.
Some Executive Council members of the GFA have disagreed with the plan to sack the Black Stars coach who is preparing for Ghana’s 2026 World Cup Qualifiers.
The decision to fire the Irish-born Ghanaian coach stems from the fact that the top hierarchy of the GFA is not convinced that Chris Hughton can win Ghana’s two 2026 World Cup qualifying matches against Madagascar and Comoros.
With about 8 days to the qualifiers, football fans were expecting coach Chris Hughton to name Ghana’s squad for the World Cup Qualifiers against Madagascar and Comoros.
However, it appears the decision to dismiss the coach is what might have delayed the announcement of the squad for the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers.
According to sources the GFAs are rather not worried about the 2023 AFCON, however, their biggest fear is that the Black Stars might not qualify for the 2026 World Cup under Chris Hughton.
George Boateng will take over as the the interim head coach once Chris Hughton is sacked by the GFA.
Source: ghanaweb.com
