Former Ghana international Augustine Arhinful has called on the Ghana Football Association (GFA) to establish a dedicated Technical Committee to oversee football matters and protect coaches from interference by club executives.
The former Black Stars striker said the lack of a clearly defined body responsible for technical affairs could weaken coaches’ authority and allow administrators to influence decisions that should be made by football professionals.
Speaking on Ahenfie FM, Arhinful questioned why the GFA has a Technical Directorate but, as far as he knows, no functioning Technical Committee with responsibility for overseeing technical issues.
“I think we need to have a Technical Committee of the FA. Because as we speak now, we have an Executive Council. There was a time we had an Executive Committee, and within the Executive Committee, they had an Emergency Committee. They have the Technical Committee of the FA, and then they have all other committees for various national teams,” he said.
Arhinful acknowledged that the GFA has a Technical Directorate, but argued that a separate committee was still required to provide direction and proper oversight of technical decisions throughout Ghanaian football.
“This time around, have you heard that the GFA has a Technical Committee? But we have the Technical Directorate. There’s a Technical Directorate. But we don’t have a Technical Committee, not one I know of anyway. But as a Federation, we should have a Technical Committee that will be in charge of all these technical matters,” he added.
The former Black Stars striker also criticised the influence of club executives who finance teams but, he said, do not always respect the judgement of the coaches they appoint.
He believes coaches should be allowed to decide on team selection, tactics and other football matters without pressure from club officials.
“We are in a country where everyone shares their opinions, so if there is a technical person who knows the work and they speak, we don’t take it. Because those who use their money to fund football think they know more than the technical people they have put in charge of the team,” he said.
Arhinful said the issue had also influenced his own decision not to pursue a coaching career, despite possessing a CAF Licence A coaching qualification.
He explained that he would not take charge of a team if he could not retain full control over player selection and other technical decisions.
“This is why I haven’t coached. I am a certified Licence A coach, but I haven’t bothered to try coaching. Because I won’t coach a team, and the chairman of the team will select players for me to use on matchday,” he said.
Arhinful questioned how coaches could fairly be held responsible for poor results when club executives were dictating key decisions.
He said coaches could become scapegoats when officials selected players or influenced tactics, but left the coach to answer for the team’s performances.
“Even if I use the players he suggests, and the results don’t favour us, the chairman will turn around and blame me for the results. So I would prefer to stay at home,” he said.
