Stop Downgrading Our Local Coaches...What's This Inferiority Complex? - Kwesi Pratt

Managing Editor of the Insight newspaper, Kwesi Pratt Jnr., has expressed worry over the employment of foreign coaches to manage Ghana's Senior National team, the Black Stars.

Speaking on Peace FM's political programme "Kokrokoo", the Managing Editor of the Insight newspaper sought to find out why the Ghana Football Association (GFA) seems to lack confidence in local coaches.

According to him, the culture where the nation always solicits the coaching assistance of foreigners should cease since in his conviction, there's an avalanche of good local coaches in the country.

Alluding to the performance of Black Stars' former Coach Kwesi Appiah who met his sudden dismissal immediately after the 2014 Brazil FIFA World Cup, Kwesi Pratt found him (Appiah) to be competent and selfless; hence wondered why the GFA would lay him off for a foreign coach. 

He criticized the decision by the GFA t o dispense with the services of Kwesi Appiah saying that “I don’t support it and I will never support it. In the future I want to see Ghanaian coaches managing the Black Stars.” 

Ghana's new coach Avram Grant led the team to the finals of the just-ended African Nations Cup; however, the team was defeated by one of the tournament's favourite, Ivory Coast, in a penalty shootout.

The Ivorians won the trophy in a dramatic penalty shoot-out last Sunday.

Although several Ghanaian soccer fans including Ghana's President John Dramani Mahama have commended the Black Stars for leadig the Black Stars to the finals; Mr. Pratt admonished the coach not to take the credit for himself.

To him, the players, particularly Dede Ayew showed tenacity and perseverance to uphold the image of the country in the tournament.

Mr. Pratt further was worried that foreign countries employ the services of their own, yet Ghana appears to be lagging behind.

“Don’t let us downgrade our coaches. Don’t let us create the impression that when you’re black, you’re useless. When you’re black, you’re not useless. Why? At the just-gone by World Cup, German team came with a German coach; French team had a Frenchman as a coach…So, are we claiming since we started playing football from the 1930s or 1920s, we’ve not been able to develop coaches of stature throughout the world? What are we saying to ourselves? What is this inferiority complex?” he quizzed.