Former Hearts of Oak Coach, Kim Grant has advised the coach selection for the national team, Black Stars, to be left to the Ghana Football Association.

According to him, government interference in the selection process can affect the credibility of the GFA in the long term and possibly the employment status of a coach when a new government comes into power.

Speaking on The Probe, Mr. Grant stated that “it is the mandate of the federation to hire coaches not government. If the funding is coming from the government so be it because it is the public’s money.”

“Ultimately, the GFA is under the FIFA and CAF ruling and the directive is that the GFA has the mandate to actually appoint the next successor for the Black Stars,” he added.

However, he said that the government if they have suggestions can have private consultations with the GFA and arrive at a decision that would be best for the national team.

The former Hearts of Oak coach said that at the end of the day the growth of the team is for the nation, not the GFA or the government.

“So at this moment in time, it got to be a GFA decision with the support of the government,” Mr Grant noted.

His comment comes after multiple media outlets alleged that former Brighton coach Chris Houghton, who was reported to be in Ghana for the Black Stars coach job, was the choice of the government while the GFA had been considering former player Otto Addo.

This had led to speculations that the GFA and government were competing against each other to get their favourites to coach the Black Stars ahead of its clash with Nigeria in the World Cup qualifiers.

Meanwhile, Mr Grant believes it is important for the two entities to reach a common ground so they could choose the best coach for the job.

He explained that divisive opinions can also ultimately affect the person who is selected to take the job as he may not get the needed support from both institutions.

Mr Grant said it is important to ensure that the selected coach has “the financial support from the government as well as the GFA making sure that all the infrastructure and preparations are in place to make sure that we have a successful Ghana national team.”