Ghana national football team

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Ghana
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)Black Stars
AssociationGhana Football Association
ConfederationCAF (Africa)
Sub-confederationWAFU (West Africa)
Head coachOtto Addo
CaptainAndré Ayew
Most capsAndré Ayew (119)
Top scorerAsamoah Gyan (51)
Home stadiumVarious
FIFA codeGHA
First colours
Second colours
Nyasaland 0–12 Gold Coast 
(Nyasaland; 15 October 1962)[2]
Biggest defeat
 Ghana 0–10 Bulgaria 
(Mexico; 2 October 1968)
World Cup
Appearances4 (first in 2006)
Best resultQuarter-finals (2010)
Africa Cup of Nations
Appearances23 (first in 1963)
Best resultChampions (1963, 1965, 1978, 1982)

The Ghana national football team represents Ghana in men's international football.[4] The team is named the Black Stars after the Black Star of Africa in the flag of Ghana.[5] It is governed by the Ghana Football Association, the governing body for football in Ghana. Prior to 1957, it played as the Gold Coast.

Ghana qualified for the FIFA World Cup for the first time in 2006.[6][7] The team has won the Africa Cup of Nations four times (1963, 1965, 1978, and 1982), while finishing as runners-up five times (1968, 1970, 1992, 2010, and 2015). They have also qualified for the CHAN four times, finishing as runners-up twice (2009 and 2014).[8]

History

Members in the 1960s pose with some of Ghana's successive international trophies won.

On 19 August 1962 at the

Real Madrid, who were at the time Spanish champions, former European champions and intercontinental champions and drew 3–3.[9]

African Cup of Nations titles, in 1963 and 1965. The Black Stars achieved their record win, 13–2 away to Kenya, after the second of these. They reached the final of the tournament in 1968 and 1970, losing 1–0 on both occasions, to DR Congo in 1968 and Sudan in 1970. Their domination of the tournament earned them the nickname "the Black Stars of Africa" in the 1960s.[10]

Fortunes changed for the Black Stars however, after they failed to qualify for 3 successive

In the early 1980s however, with emerging talents such as Abedi Pele, the Black Stars beat Libya in the 1982 African Cup of Nations final hosted by Libya to win their fourth and to date, last continental title.[12] Fortunes changed again however, as in the 1984 tournament, they were knocked out in the group stages, and did not qualify for the 1986, 1988 and 1990 tournaments. In 1992 however, the Black Stars would come runners-up to the Ivory Coast in a penalty shootout after a goalless draw, which saw every player on the pitch take a penalty, in which they were beaten 11-10.[13] The Black Stars were at a disadvantage however, as African Footballer of the Year winner and the tournament's best player, Abedi Pele, had been suspended for the final.

Tensions among the squad led to the parliamentary and executive to intervene and settle issues between star players Abedi Pele and Tony Yeboah. In the 1990s, this may have played some part in the failure of the team to build on the successes of the national underage teams. However, the generation of Black Stars players who went to the 2001 FIFA World Youth Championship final became the "core" of the team at the 2002 African Cup of Nations, going undefeated for a year in 2005 and qualifying for the final tournament of the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The Black Stars started by succumbing to a 2–0 defeat to eventual champions Italy, and wins over Czech Republic (2–0) and United States (2–1). This saw them advance through to the second round, where they lost 3–0 to Brazil.[14]

Under head coach

qualification campaign, winning their group and becoming the first African team to qualify for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. In the final tournament, they were placed in Group D with Germany, Serbia and Australia, advancing to the round of 16 where they played the United States, winning 2–1 in extra time to become only the third African nation to reach the World Cup quarter-finals. They then lost to Uruguay in a penalty shootout in the quarter-finals, after Uruguayan forward Luis Suárez blocked a header with his hand in the penalty box in extra time and was sent off. Asamoah Gyan missed the penalty given for the handball, with the score remaining at 1-1. Ghana went on to lose the penalty shootout 4-2, not making it to the semi-finals which would have been the first time an African country qualified for the semi-finals of a World Cup.[15]

In 2013, it became the only team in Africa to reach 4 consecutive semi-finals of the CAF Africa Cup of Nations twice, the first time since between 1963 and 1970.[16]

The Black Stars were sufficiently ranked by FIFA to start their qualifying for the 2014 World Cup in the second round. They won their group, and in the following round qualified for the 2014 World Cup finals in November 2013, after beating Egypt 7–3 on aggregate in a 2-legged play-off.[17] They were drawn in Group G for the finals, where they faced Germany, Portugal, and the United States.[18] They exited in the group stages recording 1 draw and 2 losses. However, they were the only team to not lose to Germany in the tournament, and the only team to hold onto a lead against the Germans at any point, drawing 2-2 (and leading 2-1) with the eventual winners.

In the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, they reached the final, to be denied the title on penalties against Ivory Coast. While their 2017 Africa Cup of Nations campaign ended in a 4th place finish - the third one in 4 consecutive editions of the tournament - in the qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup, they finished behind Egypt and Uganda in their final group. At the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, they were eliminated by Tunisia in the Round of 16. In 2021, Manager Rajevac was brought back, but the Black Stars ended up failing to win a match at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations where they lost 2–3 to debutants the Comoros after an André Ayew red card to finish bottom of their group. Thus, they failed to progress beyond the group stage for the first time since 2006. They drew 0–0 in a match against Nigeria and drew 1–1 in Nigeria to qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup on away goals.[19] During the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Ghana lost their first match against Portugal (3–2). They earned their first and only victory in their second match against South Korea 3–2 after an insane thriller. In a "must win match to qualify" against Uruguay, the opponent that kicked out Ghana 12 years ago, Ghana instead lost 2–0 and thus finished bottom; however, despite failing to avenge the loss, South Korea's 2–1 win over Portugal ensured Ghana to have a consolation prize by also sending out Uruguay from the competition on the virtue of goals scored.

Culture

Kits and crest

Home shirt: 1970s–1980s

Adopted following the independence of Ghana in 1957, the black star has been included in the Black Stars' kits. The Black Stars' kits were sponsored by

Puma SE from 2005, with the deal ending in 2014.[20]

Badge and anthem

Between 1990 and 2006 the Ghana national team used the kit in the colours of the national flag of Ghana, with gold, green and red used, as in the team's crest and also known as the Pan-African colours. The gold with green and red kit concept and design was used in the 60s and 70s, and designed with gold and green vertical stripes and red shoulders. An all black second kit was introduced in 2008 and in 2015, Black Stars' gold-red-green coloured kit and all black coloured kit is to be reassigned to the position of 1st and 2nd kits following the induction of a brown with blue and gold coloured Black Stars 3rd kit in 2012.[21][22]

The team's kit for the 2014 FIFA World Cup was ranked as the best kit of the tournament by BuzzFeed.[23]

Kit supplier Period
Germany Erima 1991–1992
Germany Adidas 1992–2000
Kappa
2000–2005
Germany Puma 2005–

Grounds

Kumasi Sports Stadium

The training facilities and training grounds are located at Agyeman Badu Stadium, Berekum Sports Stadium in Brong-Ahafo, the Tema Sports Stadium in Tema and the multi-functional Lizzy Sports Complex in Legon.[24]


Organization and finance

The Black Stars had no official head because of "corrupt" practices

oil and gas exploration corporation, Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), to sponsor the Black Stars and the renewable contract saw the oil and gas exploration corporation become the global headline sponsor of the Black Stars, with a yearly Black Stars player salary wage bill,[31][32] following the gold mining corporations Ashanti Goldfields Corporation and Goldfields Ghana Limited (GGL), which had been sponsoring the Black Stars since 2005.[33]

On 28 August 2013, Ghana Football Association (GFA) launched a

TV channel and named GFA TV. The channel has the exclusive rights to broadcast all the Black Stars' matches.[34] In November 2013, the Black Stars signed a 2013–2015 CN¥30.6 million (US$5 million) and an additional classified multi-million private bank sponsorship deal with the Ghanaian state-run private banking institution UniBank.[35]

Supporters

Ghana Supporters Union at an AFCON 2015 match between Ghana and Guinea

The Black Stars maintain an average stadium match attendance of 60,000+ and a match attendance high of 80,000+, such as in the case of its 2010 FIFA World Cup quarter-final against Uruguay which was attended by 84,017 spectators.[36] Ghana's match against England on 29 March 2011 had the largest away following for any association football national team since the re-opening of Wembley Stadium in 2007.[37] The match was watched by 700 million people around the world.[37]

Following the team's appearances at the 2006 and 2010 World Cup tournaments they were greeted by some hundred avid fans dancing and singing at Kotoka International Airport in Accra.[38]

Rivalries

Vs. Nigeria in the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations Quarter-Final

A rivalry is with the Super Eagles, the Nigeria national team. The "Battle of Supremacy on the Gulf of Guinea" is between two of the "most successful teams on the African continent".[39] The proximity of the two countries to each other, a dispute between the different association football competitions and wider diplomatic competition for influence across West Africa add to this rivalry.[39][40] The match between these two countries is called the Jollof derby.[41]

Other rivalries include the rivalry with Egypt and international rivalries with USA as well as Uruguay.

Media and arts

Match schedules are broadcast in English as in the case of inter-continental matches and in Akan nationally by Adom TV, PeaceFM, AdomFM and HappyFM. During the scheduled qualification for the 2014 World Cup national broadcaster GTV, a sub-division of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC), broadcast to the Ghanaian public home qualifiers with away qualifiers broadcast by the satellite television broadcasting corporation Viasat 1. The friendly match against Turkey in August 2013 was televised by Viasat 1 and the qualifiers for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations and the 2018 Inter-Continental Championships are scheduled for public broadcast by the corporations GFA TV, GBC and Viasat 1.[42]

Products including books, documentary films, Azonto dances and songs have been made in the name of the team. These may be intended with commercial motives and are focused on previous and future World Cups or Africa Cup of Nations tournaments.

Results and fixtures

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixture

2023

23 March
UTC±0
  • Semenyo 90+6'
Report Stadium: Baba Yara Stadium
Referee: Jean Jacques Ndala Ngambo (DR Congo)
27 March 2023 AFCON qualification Angola  1–1  Ghana Luanda, Angola
17:00 UTC+1
Report
Stadium: Estádio 11 de Novembro
Referee: Mohamed Maarouf (Egypt)
18 June 2023 AFCON qualification Madagascar  0–0  Ghana Antananarivo, Madagascar
17:00 UTC+3 Report Stadium: Mahamasina Municipal Stadium
Referee: Patrice Milazar (Mauritius)
7 September
UTC±0
Report
Stadium: Baba Yara Stadium
Referee: Peter Waweru (Kenya)
12 September
UTC±0
Report
Stadium: Accra Sports Stadium
Referee: Kouassi Attiogbe (Togo)
14 October Friendly Mexico  2–0  Ghana Charlotte, United States
21:00 UTC−4
Report Stadium: Bank of America Stadium
Referee: Joe Dickerson (United States)
17 October
Nashville, United States
20:30 UTC−4
Report Stadium: Geodis Park
Referee: Marco Ortiz (Mexico)
17 November
UTC±0
  • Williams
    90+6'
Report Stadium: Baba Yara Stadium
Attendance: 45,000
Referee: Samir Guezzaz (Morocco)
21 November 2026 World Cup qualification Comoros  1–0  Ghana Moroni, Comoros
19:00 UTC+3
Report Stadium: Stade de Moroni
Attendance: 11,628
Referee: Abdel Aziz Mohamed Bouh (Mauritania)

2024

8 January
UTC±0
Report Stadium: Baba Yara Stadium
Referee: Charles Bulu (Ghana)
14 January
UTC±0
Djiku 56' Report
Stadium: Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium
Attendance: 11,943
Referee: Jean-Jacques Ndala Ngambo (DR Congo)
18 January
UTC±0
Report
Stadium: Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium
Attendance: 20,808
Referee: Pierre Atcho (Gabon)
22 January
UTC±0
Report
Stadium: Alassane Ouattara Stadium
Referee: Ibrahim Mutaz (Libya)
22 March
UTC±0
Stadium: Stade de Marrakech
26 March
UTC±0
Stadium: Stade de Marrakech

Coaches

As of 24 January 2024
Position Name
Head coach Ghana Otto Addo
Assistant coach Morocco Joseph Laumann
Assistant coach Ghana John Paintsil
Assistant coach Ghana Fatau Dauda
Goalkeeping coach

History

Mali vs Ghana, exhibition game at Paris, 31 March 2015

Since 1957 it has had 32 different head coaches and 3 caretakers. C. K. Gyamfi led the Black Stars to 3 Africa Cup of Nations titles – in 1963, 1965 and 1982 – making Gyamfi the "joint most successful coach" in the competition's history.[51] Fred Osam Duodu led the Black Stars to their 1978 Africa Cup of Nations title;[52] Ratomir Dujković, Milovan Rajevac, and James Kwesi Appiah have led the Black Stars to World Cup qualification.[53][54] 2 Serbian managers guided Ghana to the 2 first World Cup debuts.[55][56][57][58][59][60][61] The team is being headed by Chris Hughton who is the head coach and supported by George Boateng and Mas-Ud Didi Dramani as assistant coaches[62][63][64] of the senior national team, the Black Stars since February 2023.[65][66][67]

Players

Current squad

The following players were called up for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.[68]

Caps and goals correct as of 22 January 2023, after the match against Mozambique.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1GK Richard Ofori (1993-11-01) 1 November 1993 (age 30) 33 0 South Africa Orlando Pirates
1GK Lawrence Ati-Zigi (1996-11-29) 29 November 1996 (age 27) 20 0 Switzerland St. Gallen
1GK
Joe Wollacott
(1996-09-08) 8 September 1996 (age 27) 11 0 Scotland Hibernian

2DF Daniel Amartey (1994-12-21) 21 December 1994 (age 29) 55 0 Turkey Beşiktaş
2DF Alexander Djiku (1994-08-09) 9 August 1994 (age 29) 27 1 Turkey Fenerbahçe
2DF Gideon Mensah (1998-07-18) 18 July 1998 (age 25) 24 0 France Auxerre
2DF Nicholas Opoku (1997-08-11) 11 August 1997 (age 26) 18 1 France Amiens
2DF Denis Odoi (1988-05-27) 27 May 1988 (age 35) 13 0 Belgium Club Brugge
2DF Alidu Seidu (2000-06-04) 4 June 2000 (age 23) 11 0
Rennes
2DF Mohammed Salisu (1999-04-17) 17 April 1999 (age 24) 10 2 France Monaco
2DF Kingsley Schindler (1993-07-12) 12 July 1993 (age 30) 4 0 Turkey Samsunspor
2DF Abdul Fatawu Hamidu (1999-03-04) 4 March 1999 (age 25) 1 0 Ghana Medeama

3MF André Ayew (captain) (1989-12-17) 17 December 1989 (age 34) 119 24 France Le Havre
3MF Mohammed Kudus (2000-08-02) 2 August 2000 (age 23) 32 11
West Ham United
3MF Iddrisu Baba (1996-01-22) 22 January 1996 (age 28) 28 0 Spain Almería
3MF Osman Bukari (1998-12-13) 13 December 1998 (age 25) 17 3 Serbia Red Star Belgrade
3MF Salis Abdul Samed (2000-03-26) 26 March 2000 (age 23) 15 0 France Lens
3MF Joseph Paintsil (1998-02-01) 1 February 1998 (age 26) 15 0 United States LA Galaxy
3MF Majeed Ashimeru (1997-10-10) 10 October 1997 (age 26) 9 0 Belgium Anderlecht
3MF Elisha Owusu (1997-11-07) 7 November 1997 (age 26) 8 0 France Auxerre
3MF Ransford-Yeboah Königsdörffer (2001-09-13) 13 September 2001 (age 22) 4 0 Germany Hamburger SV
3MF Richmond Lamptey (1997-03-18) 18 March 1997 (age 27) 1 0 Ghana Asante Kotoko

4FW Jordan Ayew (1991-09-11) 11 September 1991 (age 32) 100 22 England Crystal Palace
4FW Antoine Semenyo (2000-01-07) 7 January 2000 (age 24) 17 2 England Bournemouth
4FW Iñaki Williams (1994-06-15) 15 June 1994 (age 29) 17 1 Spain Athletic Bilbao
4FW Ernest Nuamah (2003-11-01) 1 November 2003 (age 20) 9 2 France Lyon
4FW Jonathan Sowah (2000-01-09) 9 January 2000 (age 24) 3 0 Ghana Medeama

Recent call-ups

The following have also been called up in the last twelve months.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Benjamin Asare (1992-07-13) 13 July 1992 (age 31) 0 0 Ghana Great Olympics 2023 Africa Cup of Nations PRE
GK Felix Kyei (2003-03-13) 13 March 2003 (age 21) 0 0 Ghana Medeama 2023 Africa Cup of Nations PRE
GK Abdul Manaf Nurudeen (1999-02-08) 8 February 1999 (age 25) 4 0 Belgium Eupen v.  Comoros, 21 November 2023

DF Baba Rahman (1994-07-02) 2 July 1994 (age 29) 52 1 Greece PAOK 2023 Africa Cup of Nations PRE
DF Kasim Adams (1995-06-22) 22 June 1995 (age 28) 16 2 Germany 1899 Hoffenheim 2023 Africa Cup of Nations PRE
DF Andy Yiadom (1991-12-02) 2 December 1991 (age 32) 16 0 England Reading 2023 Africa Cup of Nations PRE
DF Joseph Larweh Attamah (1994-05-22) 22 May 1994 (age 29) 6 0 Turkey Kayserispor 2023 Africa Cup of Nations PRE
DF Tariq Lamptey (2000-09-30) 30 September 2000 (age 23) 4 0 England Brighton & Hove Albion 2023 Africa Cup of Nations PRE
DF Stephan Ambrosius (1998-12-18) 18 December 1998 (age 25) 2 0 Germany Karlsruher SC 2023 Africa Cup of Nations PRE
DF Jerome Opoku (1998-10-14) 14 October 1998 (age 25) 1 0 Turkey İstanbul Başakşehir 2023 Africa Cup of Nations PRE
DF Patrick Kpozo (1997-07-15) 15 July 1997 (age 26) 1 0 Czech Republic Baník Ostrava 2023 Africa Cup of Nations PRE
DF Abdulai Nurudeen (2004-08-01) 1 August 2004 (age 19) 0 0 Ghana Medeama 2023 Africa Cup of Nations PRE
DF Razak Simpson (1998-07-15) 15 July 1998 (age 25) 0 0 Ghana Nations 2023 Africa Cup of Nations PRE
DF Joseph Aidoo (1995-09-29) 29 September 1995 (age 28) 17 0 Spain Celta Vigo v.  Comoros, 21 November 2023

MF Thomas Partey (1993-06-13) 13 June 1993 (age 30) 47 13 England Arsenal 2023 Africa Cup of Nations PRE
MF Edmund Addo (2000-05-17) 17 May 2000 (age 23) 12 0
Radnički Niš
2023 Africa Cup of Nations PRE
MF Daniel Afriyie (2001-06-26) 26 June 2001 (age 22) 6 4 Switzerland Zürich 2023 Africa Cup of Nations PRE
MF Yaw Yeboah (1997-03-28) 28 March 1997 (age 26) 4 0 United States Columbus Crew 2023 Africa Cup of Nations PRE
MF Michael Baidoo (1999-05-14) 14 May 1999 (age 24) 0 0 Sweden Elfsborg 2023 Africa Cup of Nations PRE
MF Forson Amankwah (2002-12-31) 31 December 2002 (age 21) 0 0 Austria Red Bull Salzburg 2023 Africa Cup of Nations PRE
MF Emmanuel Antwi (2000-01-08) 8 January 2000 (age 24) 0 0 Ghana Great Olympics 2023 Africa Cup of Nations PRE
MF Godfred Atuahene (2002-10-10) 10 October 2002 (age 21) 0 0 Ghana Dreams 2023 Africa Cup of Nations PRE

FW Kamaldeen Sulemana (2002-02-15) 15 February 2002 (age 22) 18 0 England Southampton 2023 Africa Cup of Nations PRE
FW Abdul Fatawu (2004-03-08) 8 March 2004 (age 20) 15 1 England Leicester City 2023 Africa Cup of Nations PRE
FW Benjamin Tetteh (1997-07-10) 10 July 1997 (age 26) 7 0 France Metz 2023 Africa Cup of Nations PRE
FW Bernard Tekpetey (1997-09-03) 3 September 1997 (age 26) 2 0 Bulgaria Ludogorets Razgrad 2023 Africa Cup of Nations PRE
FW John Antwi (1992-08-06) 6 August 1992 (age 31) 2 0 Ghana Dreams 2023 Africa Cup of Nations PRE
FW Hafiz Konkoni (1999-12-27) 27 December 1999 (age 24) 0 0 Tanzania Young Africans 2023 Africa Cup of Nations PRE
FW Brandon Thomas-Asante (1998-12-28) 28 December 1998 (age 25) 0 0 England West Bromwich Albion 2023 Africa Cup of Nations PRE
FW Derrick Fordjour (2002-06-21) 21 June 2002 (age 21) 0 0 Ghana Medeama 2023 Africa Cup of Nations PRE
FW Kwasi Wriedt (1994-07-10) 10 July 1994 (age 29) 6 0 Germany VfL Osnabrück v.  Central African Republic, 5 September 2023

Notes
  • CNC Cancelled match.
  • WD Withdrew.
  • INJ Withdrew because of injury.
  • PRE Preliminary squad.
  • RET Retired from international soccer.
  • SUS Suspended from the team.

Local team

The football association of Ghana (GFA) administers national teams at different levels, including 1 for the local national team. The team is restricted to players who only play in the local league, thus the Ghana Premier League. It is nicknamed Local Black Stars.[69][70][71]

Ghana Supporters Union

The Ghana Supporters Union was established in 2005 during the African Cup of Nations qualifiers and the Blackstars first qualification in Germany. The union was officially formed in 2017 and was facilitated by the then Minister of Youth and Sports, Hon. Isaac Kwame Asiamah. Since that time till now the union has been active in supporting the National Team both locally and internationally.[72]

Records

As of 22 January 2024[73]
Players in bold are still active with Ghana.

Most appearances

André Ayew is Ghana's most capped player with 116 appearances.
Rank Player Caps Goals Career
1 André Ayew 119 24 2007–present
2 Asamoah Gyan 109 51 2003–2019
3 Jordan Ayew 100 22 2010–present
4 Richard Kingson 93 1 1996–2011
5 John Paintsil 91 0 2001–2013
6 Harrison Afful 86 0 2008–2018
7 Sulley Muntari 84 20 2002–2014
8 John Mensah 81 3 2001–2012
9 Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu 78 11 2008–2017
10 Kwadwo Asamoah 74 4 2008–2019

Top goalscorers

Asamoah Gyan is Ghana's top goalscorer with 51 goals.
Rank Player Goals Caps Ratio Career
1 Asamoah Gyan 51 109 0.47 2003–2019
2 Edward Acquah 45 41 1.1 1956–1964
3 Kwasi Owusu 36 45 0.8 1968–1976
4 Tony Yeboah 29 59 0.49 1985–1997
5 Karim Abdul Razak 25 62 0.4 1975–1988
6 André Ayew 24 119 0.2 2007–present
7 Jordan Ayew 22 100 0.22 2010–present
8 Wilberforce Mfum 20 26 0.77 1960–1968
Sulley Muntari 20 84 0.24 2002–2014
10 Osei Kofi 19 25 0.76 1964–1973
Abedi Pele 19 73 0.26 1982–1998

Captains

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup