Ghana’s Minister for Sports and Recreation, Kofi Adams, has shed light on the decisive changes that helped revive the Ghana national football team and steer them back onto the global stage for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The Black Stars’ resurgence comes after a turbulent spell that saw the four-time African champions fail to qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations, their first absence in over two decades. The disappointment sparked criticism nationwide and led to dwindling fan turnout, raising concerns about the team’s direction.
But the narrative has since flipped dramatically.
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Since Adams took office, Ghana embarked on a crucial World Cup qualifying run, delivering five victories and one draw from six matches, a form that ultimately secured their qualification. The minister admitted the odds initially seemed stacked against the team.
“There were a lot of people who gave up on Black Stars,” he said. “But through a certain strategic pull-up, we have been able to play six matches, won five and drawn one, and that made it possible for us to qualify.”
Central to the turnaround, Adams explained, was a unified approach that brought together government support, technical leadership, and fan backing. High-level encouragement from the presidency and a renewed presence of supporters at the Accra Sports Stadium injected belief back into the squad.
Beyond morale, a key structural shift also redefined how the team operated.
Adams revealed that authorities moved away from the long-standing system of match bonuses, instead introducing a performance-based reward tied strictly to qualification. The change, he noted, encouraged a collective focus on the bigger picture rather than short-term incentives.
“We started first by letting them know that we’re not going to pay them winning bonuses as it used to be, we want them to manage the team to make sure that we qualify, and when we have qualified, we have a reward to give them. They accepted this, and we’ve worked with that,” he stated.
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With qualification secured, Ghana now turns attention to the World Cup itself, where they face a daunting Group L featuring England national football team, Croatia national football team, and Panama national football team. The tournament will be staged across United States, Canada, and Mexico.
As part of their preparations, the Black Stars have set up camp in Vienna, where they will test themselves in high-profile friendlies against Austria national football team and Germany national football team, fixtures expected to offer a clear measure of their readiness for football’s biggest stage.
