Sports
The Black Stars now rely heavily on foreign-based players who often have little opportunity to build lasting relationships before representing the country.
Veteran Ghanaian sports journalist and football historian Ken Bediako has described many members of the current Black Stars as “soccer mercenaries,” arguing that the unity and sense of national identity that drove Ghana’s historic 2006 FIFA World Cup team are largely missing today.
Speaking in an interview with broadcaster Kafui Dey, Bediako said the current national team lacks the cohesion that made Ghana’s first-ever World Cup squad one of the country’s strongest.
“It was a very powerful team.”
He explained that the players who qualified Ghana for the 2006 FIFA World Cup had grown together through the country’s youth national teams and domestic league before securing moves abroad.
According to Bediako, players such as Michael Essien and Asamoah Gyan had already built strong relationships by playing together at youth level and in the Ghana Premier League, making it easier to develop chemistry in the senior national team.
In contrast, he said many members of the current Black Stars only come together shortly before international assignments.
“Most of these people… only meet at the airport.”
Bediako argued that the limited time players spend together has weakened team spirit and camaraderie.
“It doesn’t bring team spirit and comradeship.”
The veteran journalist was even more critical in his assessment of the modern squad, describing many of the players as “soccer mercenaries”, a term commonly used to suggest that professional or financial interests outweigh loyalty to a team or cause.
“These people… I’ll call them soccer mercenaries.”
He attributed the situation partly to the decline of Ghana’s domestic league, arguing that local football is no longer producing enough players capable of forming the core of the national team.
Instead, he said, the Black Stars now rely heavily on foreign-based players who often have little opportunity to build lasting relationships before representing the country.
Bediako maintained that rebuilding Ghana football will require renewed investment in youth development and the domestic league to produce players who can grow together before graduating to the senior national team.
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