Sports
t was too late to change him. This is my personal opinion. I thought it was too late to change him. It didn’t make sense. According to Bediako, the move created uncertainty within the national team at a crucial stage of preparations.
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Veteran Ghanaian sports journalist and football historian Ken Bediako has criticised the decision to replace Black Stars coach Otto Addo shortly before the FIFA World Cup, arguing that the timing disrupted Ghana’s preparations and reduced the team’s chances of success.
Speaking in an interview with Kafui Dey, Bediako said changing the head coach just months before the tournament was unnecessary and unlikely to produce the desired results.
“It was too late to change him. This is my personal opinion. I thought it was too late to change him. It didn’t make sense.”
According to Bediako, the move created uncertainty within the national team at a crucial stage of preparations.
He noted that Ghana had very little time to work under the new technical team and had played only one preparatory match before naming its World Cup squad.
“Just two months into the competition, we had to change the head of the technical team. We had only one match for the competition, and that was what we saw against Wales.”
Bediako questioned the expectation that a new coach could quickly transform the team.
“As if this man had the magic wand.”
He also referred to confusion surrounding the new coach’s first assignment, saying the coach publicly distanced himself from an early friendly, which he said raised concerns about the team’s preparations.
“A lot of things are happening behind the scenes. Unfortunately, I’m not in a position to know what’s happening. But one can see that we are really messing up with the preparations for the World Cup.”
Despite wishing the team well, Bediako said he was not optimistic about Ghana’s prospects.
“I’m not expecting any miracles.”
He maintained that if a coaching change had to be made, it should have happened much earlier rather than on the eve of the tournament.
“We were not going to win the Cup anyway. So there’s no point in sacking the coach, paying so much money in compensation and then bringing a fresh man. Waste of money.”
Bediako added that successful World Cup campaigns require long-term planning.
“The World Cup is every four years. You start planning immediately after the previous World Cup. You don’t wait until the last minute.”
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