Ghana’s Obsession With World Cup Qualification Is Hurting Football Development – Michael Oti Adjei

Veteran sports journalist Michael Oti Adjei has warned that Ghana’s football authorities and supporters have become overly focused on World Cup qualification at the expense of broader development goals.

Speaking to Kafui Dey, Oti Adjei argued that qualifying for the FIFA World Cup has increasingly been used as the primary measure of success despite declining performances in other areas of the game.

“I think that’s become one of the problems with us. We measure everything in football terms these days in Ghana in terms of World Cup qualification,” he said.

The sports analyst pointed to Ghana’s struggles at the Africa Cup of Nations and the declining state of the domestic league as evidence that deeper problems exist within the football ecosystem.

“Our local league is tanking. It’s not getting better,” he stated.

Oti Adjei also lamented Ghana’s recent AFCON performances, contrasting them with the country’s previous dominance on the continent.

“We’ve become pedestrians at the Nations Cup,” he said. “We went to the semi-final six straight times and all of a sudden we can’t even qualify for the tournament.”

According to him, the failure to qualify for the Nations Cup should have prompted greater accountability and reflection within Ghana football.

“When we failed to qualify for the Nations Cup, it was such a big drop in our standards,” he said.

Oti Adjei cited countries such as Senegal and Ivory Coast as examples of nations that have built successful football systems through clear planning, strong structures and a commitment to continental success.

“They seem to have a clear idea of where they want to go. They made the Nations Cup a top priority and they worked towards it,” he said.

Looking ahead, he stressed that Ghana must focus on rebuilding its football reputation beyond simply appearing at World Cups.

“We need to become obsessed about regaining our respect and reputation in football,” he said. “We can’t do that with just the World Cup. We can do that by showing up at the Nations Cup and being a competitive force.”