President of the Ghana Football Association (GFA) Kurt Okraku has revealed how tough it was for him to have a meeting with Black Stars Head Coach Otto Addo after years of a working relationship.
He, however, indicated that as leaders the tough decisions had to be taken.
Mr Okraku, who also serves as the Second Vice President of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), disclosed these in an exclusive interview with Michael Oti Adjei of MG Sports.
“I think that it’s been a period of two phases, I would say, one phase, me watching Ghana play against Germany and putting up a decent performance, and another phase, me having to say bye-bye to a coach I’ve worked well with for a while,” he said.
“So it’s been, shall I say, it’s been a tough 24 hours, but that’s life,” he added.
“As human as we are and having worked since 2022, we’ve had a good working relationship but at the end, as leaders as we are, it’s always important for us to look at ourselves in our faces and speak about issues that concern us and how we can progress as individuals and as a collective.”
Otto Addo was sacked immediately after the Black Stars’ 2-1 loss to four-time world champions Germany at the MHPArena in Stuttgart.
Kai Havertz and Deniz Undav scored for the Germans while Abdul-Fatawu Issahaku scored for the Black Stars.
The defeat came after an embarrassing 5-1 thrashing in the hands of Austria.
Therefore, the decision by the GFA to part ways with Otto Addo took immediate effect.
Kurt Okraku explained how the meeting with Otto went.
“So, first of all, I would say, without being proud, with all humility, that I’m a leader who is dynamic, I’m a leader who is honest to issues around me, and I’m a team player, which is most important and I think that when leading the team, you may have your strong opinions about issues, but there are moments that you need to listen to the team for the greater good of our country.
“And at this moment, we thought it’s Ghana first, and we have to go in a different direction.”
With the 2026 FIFA World Cup just over two months away, the Black Stars will need a new coach to lead the campaign.
Before then, the 2010 World Cup quarter-finalists have friendly matches against Mexico and Wales to take care of.
