Kwesi Nyantakyi Urges GFA to Hire Psychologist for Black Stars
Former president of the Ghana Football Association (GFA), Kwesi Nyantakyi, has called for the immediate hiring of a psychologist to support the Black Stars as they grapple with significant psychological challenges that have adversely affected their performance in recent competitions.
This plea comes in the wake of the national team’s disappointing failure to qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) for the first time in two decades.
The Black Stars, managed by Otto Addo, found themselves at the bottom of their AFCON qualifying group, which included relatively lower-profile teams such as Niger, Sudan, and Angola. This shocking result came after back-to-back group stage exits in the previous AFCON tournaments which has led to widespread calls from fans and analysts alike for Addo’s dismissal.
Nyantakyi has expressed grave concerns regarding the mental state of both the players and the technical staff, suggesting that psychological issues may be at the root of the team’s troubles.
He pointed to a notable incident during the match against Niger in Accra, where Addo unexpectedly stormed onto the pitch after the team scored a consolation goal. Nyantakyi interpreted this behavior as indicative of deeper psychological problems.
“Apart from the players, I think Otto Addo and the technical team need a psychologist. The day we played against Niger in Accra, he [Otto Addo] stormed the pitch after we scored a consolation goal. I saw that there was a psychological problem there. What triggered him to storm the pitch is a psychological problem,” he said in an interview with Accra-based Asempa FM.
With World Cup qualifiers on the horizon, where Ghana is set to face off against Chad and Madagascar in March, Nyantakyi’s suggestion to engage a psychologist could be a crucial step in addressing these underlying issues and revitalizing the team’s performance in upcoming qualifiers.
