Sudan Coach Offers Advice to Ghana After AFCON Failure, Urges GFA to Analyse Downfall
- Ghana legend Kwesi Appiah has offered advise to the Football Association after the failure to qualify for AFCON
- The Black Stars finished bottom of Group F of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers after a poor qualifying run
- Appiah, who is coach of Sudan, beat Ghana during the qualifiers to lead the North Africans back to AFCON
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Former Black Stars coach Kwesi Appiah has charged the Ghana Football Association to sit back and analyse factors that affected the country's AFCON qualifying run.
The four-time African champions failed to qualify for the continent's flagship championship for the first time in 20 years after finishing bottom of their qualifying group.
Appiah led Sudan to a place in the competition, picking up four points from six in the matches against the Black Stars.
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The Sudan coach, who is also a member of the federation's Executive Council, has advised the FA to analyse Ghana's failure to qualify for AFCON.
"It's really unfortunate because everybody thought Ghana will have qualified," Appiah told the BBC.
"In 2014, I was taking Ghana to the World Cup in Brazil, and I made a statement that football is coming of age.
"The whole FA needs to sit down and analyse and check what is really going on."
Appiah had to relinquish his role at the Ghana FA briefly during the qualifiers following his job as Sudan coach. He later explained he had to be professional despite facing his own country.
"I was an executive member of the Ghana FA, and while Ghana was involved with our group, I was told to step aside because of a conflict of interest, and I did," he continued.
"Once you are a professional, you look at where you're working. If Ghana is not rising up to the occasion, there's nothing I can do.
"I need to be 100% professional and make sure the country I'm coaching qualify [for] either the Afcon or the World Cup."
Why Appiah took up Sudan job?
Despite the North African nation's close to two-year civil war, Appiah decided to sign a contract to lead the country.
The former Black Stars player and captain disclosed that he was inspired by the country's situation to take up the job. Appiah also promised to return the one-time African champions to the Nations Cup.
"Qualifying for the Afcon was one of the targets I set for myself before I signed the contract, so achieving it was something that was on my heart," Appiah said.
"Another reason I signed was for the people in Sudan, because of the war back home. The players have shown a lot of dedication."
Sudan have also qualified for the African Nations Championship (CHAN), a competition designed for players plying their trades on the continent. They are also top of their group in the FIFA 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
Appiah reacts after Sudan players abscond in US
Earlier, YEN.com.gh reported that former Black Stars coach Kwesi Appiah has vowed not to bring Sudan players to Ghana after two absconded in the USA.
The two players, AbdoelKarem Yagoub and Esmat Abdulhamid signed for Asante Kotoko at the beginning of the season on Appiah's recommendation.
However, the players went missing following Asante Kotoko's visit to the USA in October last year.
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Source: YEN.com.gh
