The rise of Ghana Football Association (GFA) President, Kurt Okraku, may come as a sucker punch to many of his critics in Ghana especially.

For those critics, nothing good can be identified with his administration. It has been stretched to the extent that any negative occurrence in the game is quickly attributed to him or his administration.

In fact, Kurt Okraku’s name in some quarters has become the definition of any negative occurrence in the game in Ghana.

However, it beats the imagination of all how such a person, who is often the most criticised, maybe apart from government officials, continue to earn international recognition.

The Black Stars have failed to shine; climaxing that catastrophe with a failure to qualify for the next edition of AFCON. The other national teams have all struggled under him.

For this reason he has been chastised.

But in the face of these failures, Kurt Okraku was elevated to an Executive Member position at the Confederation of African Football (CAF) at its congress held recently.

One would then ask the obvious question whether it is the case of a dislike for him that has shrouded the efforts he is putting in to develop the game in Ghana.

In a rare encounter with him recently, one of the questions I asked was why is he criticised on daily basis for the work he’s doing?

But his response was quite instructive.

Drawing an analogy from good old book – Bible, he practically preached to me about the story of the Lord Jesus Christ who was not accepted in his own home but was accepted outside his jurisdiction.

“My brother, I have no idea why people criticise me that much. They may have their reasons for doing that but I look beyond them. Even our Lord Jesus was despised by his own people. I am focused on doing the best for Ghana football. Maybe, if I don’t get the recognition today, a future generation may recognise my effort,” he said.

He may be true in a certain sense. Many times, people do not treasure the good things they have until they lose it. This is very common in many facets of life.

Irrespective of where one stands, his elevation to the high office of a CAF Executive Member is one Ghanaians cannot intentionally ignore.

Mr Okraku is the sixth Ghanaian to be occupying that office and faces the challenges of keeping the flag of Ghana high and improve the image built for the country by his predecessors.

Perhaps the efforts at the WAFU Zone ‘B’ level were so minute that it escaped the lenses of his critics but obviously, a top post at CAF is too big to be ignored.

He deserves the commendations of every Ghanaian. What he needs is the support of all but that is not to suggest that he has grown about criticism. Ayekoo Mr Okraku!

 By Andrew Nortey

Ahead of today’s 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Chad in Accra, Otto Addo held a press conference to address various issues.

Ghana’s head coach answered questions from the media regarding the crucial clash against the Central Africans.

Here’s everything he had to say:

On initial words and three days of training in Accra

First of all, I really, really appreciate the support. I know we are not going to talk about it but after the bad outcome, how the people of Ghana and Accra especially welcomed me has been good. We have had good training sessions. I would also like to use this opportunity to thank the head of the state, our president (H.E John Mahama) for his visits, also the sports minister who has been there watching all our training and supporting us, having really, really, really inspiring words. Same as our President (Kurt Okraku) and also former players visiting the ground and having really, really good talks with our players. And surely this is the support we need. As I can see, a lot of people here and (2:50) yeah, I want to thank you in advance for supporting us. We appreciate it after these bad qualifiers, that you still believe in us and still supporting us. And this maybe should be said. And yeah, I have a very, very good feeling. The boys are doing well. Sure, we had some issues with injuries again, but nowadays there are so many games in the world. There’s so much intensity that it’s kind of normal that a lot of injuries could occur. But we still have a very, very strong squad together, really, really good, really impressive, some new players and I’m really excited to see them playing tomorrow.

On absence of Elisha Owusu

Yeah, I think he’s a very important player, but we have similar profiles. I’m happy that we brought in similar profiles like him. And I think we have more players who can play in that role. But surely, I mean, he was doing really well, especially in the home games and I hope for him that he will recover soon from his injury.

On approach to Chad game

I think surely we will have a lot of ball possession and we have to attack. This is for sure. But other than that, I can’t go too deep. I hope you understand that. And yeah, that’s it.

On counting on the experience of Jordan and Partey

Surely the experienced players, they know their role in our team. They have to be the best in our team. This is for sure. We spoke a lot the last months and both are very, very ready. So I’m looking forward for them to combine well, to talk, to lead the team. And surely, I think if they’re in good shape, then we will be successful.

On getting to start 2025 on a clean slate

To be honest, it has been like this always. So even before that, we visited the players, we watched matches live. We’ve been downloading matches to watch matches online because we can’t be in 40 places at the same time. But maybe surely we had a little bit more intense talks to turn things around. And we also have a new set up. So there was a lot of things to talk about so that when they come here, that they’re not surprised. And this is what we’ve been doing.

On lessons from Ghana’s failed AFCON campaign

So I think, first of all, surely I’m the head coach. But I think we’re all in this together. It’s not about only me. So when we win, we all win. And when we lose, we all lose. I really like to say sorry for what happened. I think, especially in the home games, everybody saw that the most important thing which was missing was the goals. And for this, it’s about playing together. It’s about even maybe to create even more, even though we created a lot of chances and give the guys the belief. And for this, I’m responsible for. This is for sure. But I also need you guys. I need everybody. And like I said, I really want to thank you for the support the country has given so far. I mean, the President of the country, what do we want more as a support. And the Sports Minister came to assure us that he’s totally behind us. And we had a lot of positive talks also with media. And I’m really, really happy and looking forward to the game.

And I know that Chad is not a top team, but believe me, it’s not going to be easy. And we need all the support we can get. And the boys, I mean, everyone knows that they can do it. They’re showing it on the board. And we need them. We need to create the right atmosphere, which is really in place now, for them to do the same here in Ghana.

On the pitch

I’m very, very happy that the pitch looks much, much better. This is, for me, the most important thing. I know maybe people who haven’t played maybe don’t think it’s that important, but it’s very important that we have a good pitch and the pitch is wet. And I think now we are really, really on a good path. And I know that we create a lot of chances and the goals will come.

On what the new Otto Addo brings on board in 2025

I’m almost 50. To say that I’m a new, I’ve never said this, and I didn’t say this. I know that I said it’s a new era, a new beginning. And I’m a person who’s always learning. No matter if I win or lose, I’m always eager to learn, always eager to improve myself. Always, I know, like, surely when we lose, everybody will ask, what did I learn. And you learn the most out of losses. But I’m very, very keen, especially when I win also, to look at what I could have done better. And that’s me. So I always try to improve myself, improve the team, which is very, very important after these losses, and look at the areas where we can improve ourselves. But surely, like I said, it’s not only on me. It’s first, it’s the players. But also, it’s the whole environment. And I’m very, very happy, like I said, that we have a positive, even though we played very, very bad. And I really want to apologise for that, because this is not where we are supposed to be. And I’m very, very happy that now, 2025, we have a new match tomorrow. It took a long time. And this is, yeah, let’s say the bad thing. As a national coach, once you lose, you have to wait for months to play again and show that it’s still there. And I’m looking forward to tomorrow.

On Benjamin Asare

So first of all, it’s always, with me, it’s always the performance. It doesn’t matter which position. It’s always the performance. And it’s not about maybe somebody saying this or somebody saying that. For that, I’m too much of a coach. Surely, I listen and I hear a lot of things. But at the end, I will make the decision together with the staff. I think Benjamin Assaoui has done well before. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have called him. And we’ve been observing him for quite some time. He’s done well in training. But the others as well. And we have one more day, one more training day. And we’ll take a decision this evening. And let’s see what happens.

On whether having the chance for another World Cup is a motivation

I’m the head of the Black Stars but it’s not only on me. If it’s on me, I would even change myself, go inside and try to play but I can’t run anymore. So it’s not only on me, but surely I understand that there’s a certain pressure. We have a good position and this is what the players did also themselves. They beat Mali away, so this was very, very crucial for us to come back on the top position. And now we have everything in our own hands. This is very important, very, very good for us and this is really, really positive. And again, I want to thank you for this positive environment. I think the players, when they came, they really, really felt welcome and everybody can feel the energy, which is coming from outside, which is very important for the players. And yeah, I’m very, very sure we will deliver. I can’t call myself an expert for this or that. I always want to win. It doesn’t matter. Even if we play, I want to win. It doesn’t matter. I always want to win. It doesn’t have to be the World Cup or whatsoever. So the players are the same. And surely we had a bad qualification for the AFCON and now we’re looking forward to doing everything possible to win this next match. And then from there, I have a very, very good position to go forward.

On a new look Technical team

Yeah, I think that I said it before, we had a lot of talks, a lot of deeper talks even. Maybe this also applies to your questions you had. And we have a new setup. This is part of the business sometimes, you know, when things happen, things change. And I’m really, really happy to have an experienced guy like Winnie Schafer on board, who also shares a lot of talks with the players. We have a new psychologist on board. We have a new assistant coach on board. So everything is fresh. It’s a fresh start for the players, fresh start for us, for me. And I’m really, really happy that so far what we did in training and the guys look good. And yeah, I’m really, really looking forward to that game.

And one thing which is for sure, and which the players all have to understand, we can all do this together. We want to send the right signals. Even if somebody misses a chance, we have to send the right signal to that player that we are all in this together. It’s not like this player or that player. And this is the right big move to win. We have to push each other. We have to support each other. And then I think we’ll get the results.

On who is likely to partner Thomas Partey in midfield

I think we have good possibilities in the midfield. We have yet to decide what we do. We have one more training day and afterwards, we’ll surely sit together with the technical staff and decide.

On difference between AFCON and World Cup qualifiers

Actually, I think the one thing which really, really is different now and which is very important in every tournament or every game you play is that you have good start. And for me, it was very, very crucial that we lost against Angola, even though everybody who was in Kumasi knows that we should have won this game or at least played a draw. Once you are down and you need to score and you need to win away, it makes it very, very difficult because you have to change tactics. And truly, if you’re in a position like now, it helps us to, let’s say, take less risks.

We will have the confidence that everything is in our own hands. This was not like it was when we played for the AFCON qualifiers. The start was very, very bad. From there, we were chasing the points. This is a big, big mentally, a big, big difference as a player. For this, you have to be very, very strong, especially when things go wrong and you have lost a match before. It’s a different thing. Everybody who played knows that. And now, I think we have a very, very good position, a very, very confident position and we can keep on building up on that position.

On being concentrated throughout the game

I think I’ve said it before. We have a new set-up, a new team with Winfred Schaefer who has won the AFCON already. He has been through all kinds of situations. His experience really helps us. Not only me who’s talking to the players, he’s also talking a lot to the players. We have a psychologist. And then also I think we’re in a much, much better position which makes things easier. If we would be having three points, the pressure is different. Even though we play maybe against Chad, whatsoever, it’s a different pressure and anything you do wrong on the pitch will be criticised from the spectators. But now, as we have nine points, we have a good position and everybody’s very, very motivated. Also, because we didn’t do well, we seem to be even more motivated. Everybody’s eager to show that we can still do it. I think, like I said before, it helps a lot, the support of the people. When I see the spectators, how they’re cheering for the players. When I see the President of the nation coming, when I see the Sports Minister coming, when I see the FA President having good words for the team, I’m very, very happy. And I’m looking forward to that game to make everyone happy.

On Injuries

There are no injuries; all 23 players which are here are ready to play.