Ghana’s Minister of Sports, Mustapha Ussif, has voiced his discontent over the recent underwhelming performances of the Black Stars in major football competitions.
The four-time Africa Champions have failed to impress in the past three tournaments, facing elimination during the group stages. These tournaments include two AFCONs and a FIFA World Cup.
Prior to their disappointing outing at AFCON 2023, the Black Stars were prematurely ousted from the group stage at AFCON 2021 and the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
In an address to Parliament, Mustapha Ussif underscored the unacceptable nature of the Black Stars’ performances in these tournaments, particularly given the substantial investments made by the government in the team.
“The Black Stars’ performance in the last three major tournaments, namely the 2021 AFCON in Cameroon, 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, and 2023 AFCON in Cote D’Ivoire, where Ghana exited at the group stages of all three tournaments, notwithstanding government’s continuous huge investment in the team, is not acceptable,” he stated.
At the 2023 AFCON tournament, where Ivory Coast emerged as winners, the Black Stars were eliminated in the group stage, finishing third in Group B with two points. They managed two draws and suffered one defeat.