Ghana has been waiting for 38 years now to win the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) since they last did in 1982, but current head coach of the Black Stars CK Akonnor says his main focus now is not winning the trophy as many Ghanaians may be expecting.
In what many see as controversial statement from the ex Ghana skipper, Akonnor has explained that winning the much awaited trophy is dependent on the quality and strength of the team Ghana presents to the tournament, which means team building must be the focal point instead of having one’s eye firmly fixed on winning the trophy.
Ghana has won the continent’s most sought after national team trophy on four occasions – 1963, 1965, 1978 and last in 1982, but has suffered heartbreaking failures, losing three finals in 1992, 2010 and 2015. The wait is still on since skipper Emmanuel Quarshie last lifted the trophy for the nation in Libya after edging out the hosts with a 7-6 win on penalty shootouts after 1-1 draw in regulatory time.
Between 1982 and now, the Black Stars have been beaten to the trophy on penalty shootouts twice by Ivory Coast, first in Senegal 1992 and 2015 in Equatorial Guinea. The Stars also lost marginally to Egypt in 2010 in Angola.
Expectations from Ghanaian football lovers on winning the AFCON trophy have grown increasingly unimaginable, who will not settle for anything less anytime Ghana participates in the tournament. Since his appointment in January this year to replace former Ghana international James Kwasi Appiah, many Ghanaians seem to have seen some kind of respite in Akonnor as the man to bring home the continent’s biggest trophy in no later than the next edition, but Akonnor’s target looks a bit parallel to that of the fans.
In an interview with Star FM, Akonnor revealed that his main focus now is on team building; developing individual players to improve and become stand out performers, which will make the entire Black Stars team look stronger than it is now. According to him, if the them is made of high quality in various positions, winning the AFCON will become a natural issue.
Below is the interview of CK Akonnor with Star FM:
