The Black Meteors’ 1-1 draw with Guinea at the U-23 Africa Cup of Nations means Ghana will miss out on the football event at the Olympic Games for a 20th consecutive year.

The Meteors went into the tournament riding a wave; they beat Algeria in a double-header in the final round of qualifying, thrashed five-time CAF Champions League winners, Zamalek 4-1, and secured a 1-1 draw with Egypt’s U-23, who’ll now play in the semifinal of the tournament.

The Meteors landed in Ghana on Monday morning after finishing third in Group A.

Their performance is yet another chapter of Ghana’s sorrowful tournament performances in the last four years – at all age levels.

Derek Boateng, a former Black Stars player, who also represented the country at all youth levels, has attributed the failure of the national teams to the player imposition of the GFA.

In Badu’s four-point thesis, he highlights the FA, a lackadaisical attitude of the technical directorate, the coaches and then, poor talent identification practices.

The head - GFA

The head, you cannot take anything from the head - that is the GFA. 

Whatever it is, if there is a problem, you are the one to be blamed.

I think the FA needs an emergency meeting this week. Get people on a committee and check what is really going on in our football because gradually it’s [inaudible], and where it is going, it is very dangerous.

It’s getting dangerous every blessed day, it’s not even a month or week, [but] every blessed day. 

Technical directorate

We need to look at the technical directorate, the reports they get, because it’s not only the Black Stars that is failing.

So if the U-17 is failing, the U-20 is failing, the U-23 is failing and the CHAN team is failing, it means the technical directorate has a question mark.

Coaches

Thirdly, the coaches, what is really going on? Are we not up to the game, or there is a problem and they cannot talk?

If they need to talk, they should, if they don’t need to talk, they don’t need to be there.

The issue is, we are hearing rumours in the country - that some people in the FA force them to bring players. I don’t know if it is a fact or a rumour - I don’t know how to call it - they have agencies they bring players from, but brother, let me tell you something:

You own a bank and pick Agyemang Badu to take care of the bank. You came back to me and told me ‘Agyemang Badu, let’s go and steal money. When the problem comes, you take the blame on yourself.’

So who’s the problem?

They [people] are saying people [the FA] have players they bring in the team, people have agencies - they force coaches to pick players. [But] when the blame comes, who does it come to? Does it go to the FA or the coaches?

If it goes to the FA have you seen them sack anybody there? It’s the coach, when you come back and things are not going well, they sack you, and the person you claim is giving you players is still there. 

So where’s the problem coming from?

Talent Identification

Talent identification; how do we identify our talents? Is it that this guy came and played 20 minutes, he did well, went back and we are not checking on him at his club? What he’s done in those twenty minutes with the national team is fine.

We don’t have a directorate calling the coaches and asking relevant questions: why is the guy not playing in his club side? 

Has his [inaudible]?

Is it something we don’t know in Ghana? Do we have people checking on the players regularly, asking their coaches, asking their people: ‘what is going on with the player?’

Or we just focus on ‘he came here, did well, scored one goal, went back’ and that is it? And the subsequent call up is based on what he did three months ago?

Nobody hates anyone, nobody hates any FA.

If I talk, I don’t get anything from it, I don’t know anyone there, I don’t hate anyone there but the thing which has giving me something to eat, I won’t allow you spoil it for the future generation not to get anything from it else, where it is heading to, after three or four years, qualification will be difficult.

Way forward?

Badu has called for the setting up of a seven-man committee.

Abedi Pele, Tony Baffoe, Stephen Appiah and Michael Essien are amongst names alongside a government nominee, Badu believes will be needed on that committee.

"What is the use of Abedi Pele, Tony Baffoe, Stephen Appiah, Michael Essien and Sulley Muntari? Bring them on board a seven-member committee.

"Let them call people and ask relevant questions [about] the rumours we are hearing. These are individual people, bring them on board, let's speak out."

He also calls for a study into the Mali and Senegal football approach.

Badu doubts Ghana football can be fixed by the GFA because "if you leave it to the heads [GFA] to take control of all these things I'm talking about, the value will be the same; nothing will change".