The Ghana Football Association (GFA) has called for greater long-term investment, improved infrastructure and shared responsibility across the country’s football industry, saying the organisation cannot deliver sustained success alone.
GFA President Kurt Edwin Simeon-Okraku made the appeal during a meeting between the Association’s Executive Council and Parliament’s Select Committee on Sports on Wednesday, November 4, 2026.
The discussions covered the performance of the Black Stars, domestic football, refereeing, investment, infrastructure and the financial pressures facing the GFA.
Simeon-Okraku also addressed Ghana’s 44-year wait for another Africa Cup of Nations title. Despite possessing several generations of talented players, the Black Stars have reached the final three times during that period without winning the competition.
“The Black Stars in 44 years have not won the AFCON. This is a statement of fact. In 44 years, we’ve had different generations of super talents, and in 44 years, we’ve been to the grand finale on three occasions,” he said.
He said there were deeper reasons for Ghana’s failure to reclaim the continental title, but warned that discussing some of them publicly could be harmful.
“There are certain reasons that I will not want to talk about here because I see cameras and whatever we say here is public. Sometimes certain truths said at a wrong time could be very damaging,” he added.
Simeon-Okraku offered to discuss the issue privately with the committee if members wanted to examine in detail why Ghana had gone so long without winning the AFCON.
“If this committee is very interested in going to the bottom to find perhaps that singular reason why Ghana in 44 years has not won an AFCON trophy, we can have that discussion without cameras,” he said.
He said responsibility for developing football should extend beyond the GFA, with the state providing the infrastructure, resources and support systems required for the sport to grow.
“If we are to be honest, there is a lot more that brings sustained success in football,” Okraku said.
The GFA president revealed that all of Ghana’s national teams, including the Black Stars and Black Queens, use one team bus bought by the Association in 2008. After 18 years of service, the vehicle has broken down, forcing the GFA to hire transport during the most recent international window.
“Your Black Stars, your Black Queens, and the 18 other national teams have access to one bus that was purchased by the GFA in 2008. Now the bus is broken. During the last international window, the GFA had to rent a bus,” he said.
He also criticised restrictions imposed by the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) on sponsorships involving alcoholic beverage companies. Guinness Ghana Limited had reportedly proposed investing more than $5 million a year in the Ghana Premier League, but the deal collapsed after the FDA refused approval.
“We were approached by Guinness Ghana Limited wanting to invest heavily in the Ghana Premier League… At the end, FDA said no. The deal was, if I’m not mistaken, over $5 million a year. We lost it,” Okraku said.
He urged Parliament to consider removing the FDA’s power to approve or reject such agreements.
The GFA also confirmed temporary approval for Essipong Stadium to host Ghana’s 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match against Somalia.
The meeting was attended by Vice-President Mark Addo and Executive Council members Nana Sarfo Oduro, Gideon Fosu, Frederick Acheampong, Kingsley Osei Bonsu, Samuel Aboabire, Eugene Nobel Noel, Alhaji Abu-Hassan and Dr. Ransford Abbey. Mark Addo, Dr. Randy Abbey, Frederick Acheampong, Gideon Fosu and Nana Sarfo Oduro contributed to the discussions.
