Parliament completes probe into Black Stars poor performance

Indications are that, the Parliamentary committee tasked to probe the Black Stars’ abysmal performance in the 2021 African Cup of Nations, has completed its work.

This is according to the Deputy Majority Leader and Member of Parliament (MP) for Effutu constituency, Alexander Afenyo-Markin.

Speaking on the floor of Parliament last Friday, the lawmaker noted that the committee has decided to hold on to its report and release it later.

According to him, it is because of the crucial world cup qualifier games ahead of the team slated for March 25, to be held at the Baba Yara Stadium.

“Mr. Speaker, I’m reliably informed that the work given to them is done. Except that Mr. Speaker, there is a Ghana-Nigeria match. A very crucial match and the Committee in its wisdom is of the view that, that match should be played in peace and all matters be discussed later” he said.

Probe

The Youth, Sports and Culture Committee in Parliament was tasked to investigate the abysmal performance of the Black Stars at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.

This was after a statement from the ranking committee member, Kobla Mensah Woyome, highlighted the frustrations of the fans following the early exit of the team from the tournament.

The South Tongu Member of Parliament (MP) attributed the failure of the Stars to qualify from the group stage to poor management and decisions of the GFA and government.

The statement on the floor generated uproar among members who were livid over the terrible display and tactics of the Black Stars.

Some of the MPs including MP for Okaikwei Central, Patrick Yaw Boamah also demanded the dissolution of the team’s management.

The First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Joseph Osei Owusu, who was presiding over sitting at then, directed the sports committee to probe the issue and submit a report to the House.

World Cup Qualifier

The team is scheduled to play Nigeria on March 25 at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium before playing the return leg in Abuja four days later.

Per the plans of the GFA, the players are expected to have touched down already and will depart Accra for Kumasi on Tuesday, March 22, 2022 night.

The team will have its first training session on Wednesday and another on Thursday with the press granted permission to cover the first 15 minutes of it.

After the training session, Otto Addo will have his first media interaction on Thursday after training to brief Ghanaians on the state of the team and preparedness to face Nigeria.

A win over the two legs will Ghana qualify for its fourth football mundial and will be hoping to better what they achieved in 2010 where they exited in the quarterfinals in South Africa.