The Communications Director of the Ghana Football Association (GFA) has justified the recent expansion of the Black Stars’ technical team, insisting the move is in line with modern football demands and global best practices.
On Friday, the GF announced five key appointments to strengthen the Black Stars technical team as Ghana prepares for the 2026 World Cup to be hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States of America.
According Henry Asante Twum, the additions do not suggest a lack of confidence in the head coach Otto Addo but rather reflect the need for adequate support systems to compete at the highest level.
“I don’t think Milovan Rajevac and Chris Hughton were weak because we augmented their technical team during 2012 and 2014,” Asante Twum told Luv FM.
“It’s all about putting together a strong technical team that will help us achieve our goal at the World Cup at the end of the day.”
Asante Twum noted that football has transformed significantly over the years, with national teams now relying on highly specialised personnel to gain competitive advantage.
“The game has transformed to the extent that today we even have throw-in coaches,” he added.
Drawing comparisons with top national teams, Henry revealed that Ghana’s technical setup has historically been lean when measured against other World Cup participants.
“There are technical setups that are made up of 40. The last time we went to the World Cup, I saw the Portugal national team technical setup, and they were 45,” he explained.
“We played South Korea, Uruguay and Portugal. Portugal had over 40, South Korea over 35, and Uruguay 28.”
“There are teams with three goalkeepers’ trainers, there are teams with coaches responsible for only defenders, coaches responsible for midfielders and strikers.”
“We put together lean technical teams. Sometimes they are overhauled,” he said.
“For instance, the medical team led by Doctor Prince Pambo works 24 hours when the team is in camp.”
