Kwesi Nyantakyi says Ghana football has declined since he left office

Nyantakyi was voted as GFA boss in 2005 and stayed in office until 2016 when he was forced to resign following a damning documentary by investigative journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas.

Although the content of the exposé saw his reputation marred with allegations of corruption and bribery, Nyantakyi’s tenures also saw some highs, including three successive qualifications to the FIFA World Cup by the Black Stars, as well as the Black Satellites winning the U20 World Cup in 2009.

In 2019, Nyantakyi was succeeded by Kurt Okraku, who has since had a mixed tenure so far, with a lift in youth and women’s football, while the Black Stars have exited the group stage of their last three major tournaments.

Kwesi Nyantakyi ece-auto-gen

Reacting to this, Nyantakyi said football in Ghana has declined since he left office and called for a collective effort to rebuild the sport.

"Ghana football is not at a desirable level. I came to office in 2005, and in our first AFCON, we suffered a first-round exit," he said on Onua TV, as quoted by Joy Sports.

"But from 2008 till 2017, we always made the semi-finals of the AFCON. We finished in third place in 2008, second in 2010, semi-finals in 2012 and 2015, second in 2015 and semi-finals in 2017."

"But since 2019, we have always exited after the first round or even in the group stage. So if you drew a graph, you’d see a steep slope. So we all need to help to raise the level again.”

Kwesi Nyantakyi Pulse Ghana

It will be recalled that, in 2018, Nyantakyi was captured in Anas’ ‘Number 12’ exposé allegedly taking cash gifts and peddling influence.

This led to him resigning as GFA President, as well as losing his positions as FIFA Council Member and 1st Vice President of CAF.

Nyantakyi was subsequently handed a lifetime ban and fined 500,000 Swiss Francs by FIFA in the aftermath of the exposé.

He was also charged with conspiracy to commit fraud, and corruption by a public officer, but was later granted bail with some sureties.

Although his lifetime ban was subsequently reduced to 15 years following an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), Nyantakyi’s reputation took a major hit.