Former Ghana Football Association (GFA) vice president George Afriyie has revealed that former president Kwesi Nyantakyi warned him not to ever interfere in any coach’s work.
His remarks follow recent allegations that the current GFA administrations influenced the selection of national team coaches.
Afriyie was responding to a question about how favouritism and nepotism in Ghana’s national team could be reduced so that the right players are always chosen to represent the country.
During his previous GFA administration, he claimed that it was difficult to persuade any coach to select specific players because his boss, Kwesi Nyantakyi, would never allow it.
“I was the chairman of the national U20, the Black Satellites. Maxwell Konadu [the then-coach] submitted a list[squad] for a game against Uganda. In the list, I questioned Maxwell on why player A wasn’t in the squad at the expense of another player. I tried to push further by suggesting to Maxwell whom to select but he reported me to Mr Kwesi Nyantakyi (The then-GFA president).
“Kwesi Nyantakyi called and told me the job of a management Committee chairman was not to impose a player on a coach which I tried to challenge due to the calibre of players I was making a case for.
“However, he[Nyantakyi] told me it wasn’t my job to do that but to rather allow the coach to do his job independently so that he can be fired when he fails. I never commented on a player since then,” he narrated on Sports Ultras on 3fm.
