Black Stars can make AFCON impact – Nyantakyi
Former Ghana Football Association president Kwesi Nyantakyi has advised the Black Stars and its leadership to leave no stone unturned in their bid for a fifth title at the Africa Cup of Nations tournament.
At the January 9 – February 6 gathering in Cameroon, Ghana have set sights on ending a run of disappointments since winning their last title in Libya 1982.
Nyantakyi was GFA president from 2005 until 2018 when a bribery and corruption scandal brought down his administration and saw him receive a lifetime ban from football, until it was reduced to 15 years by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
“I have been at the Africa Cup of Nations [Afcon] several times with the Black Stars and there are tricks that we must take into consideration,” the former FA boss, also a former Caf first vice president, told Onua FM on Friday.
“Some of the North African countries come to the tournament with their own cook, cleaners among others and when I was in office, we also did the same because Africa is full of surprises.
“This is because nobody wants to be a victim and I think with the Black Stars heading to the Afcon in Cameroon, all these must be taken into consideration.
“I believe the team can make an impact and in doing that, these things must not be taken for granted.”
At the last Afcon tournament in Egypt, Ghana suffered a Round of 16 elimination following a penalty shootout defeat to 2004 champions Tunisia.
It was the first time the Black Stars failed to reach the quarter-final of the continental showpiece since 2006, having reach the last four consecutively between 2008 and 2017.
On Wednesday, Ghana suffered disappointment in their first and only test game before Afcon as they succumbed to a 3-0 defeat to Algeria in an international friendly in Qatar.
“This is my country and everybody knows that and this is Black Stars,” Nyantakyi added.
“When the Black Stars is playing, everybody supports the team and that is what I am also going to do.
“Let us all unite and support the team because when the team performs, everybody will say Ghana and not one person’s name.
“This is not the time to be saying stuff that divides the country. Let us all stay united and support the team.”
In 2018, Nyantakyi was accussed of breaking Fifa’s rules relating to conflicts of interest, bribery and corruption in an Anas Aremeyaw Anas-led investigative documentary.
Found guilty by the world football’s governing body Fifa, the administrator was initially slapped with a 90-day ban from all football-related activities, before the suspension was extended into a life ban. However, in 2020, the Court of Arbitration for Sport reduced the indefinite ban to 15 years.