Former Communications Director of the Ghana Football Association (GFA) and CAF Media Officer, Ibrahim Sannie Daara, has blamed Sports and Recreation Minister Kofi Adams for Ghana’s disappointing 1-1 draw with Chad on Thursday in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

The Black Stars looked on course for victory after Jordan Ayew’s 17th-minute opener, but Ecua Celestin struck in the 89th minute to hand Chad their first point of the campaign, having lost all six of their previous matches.

Ahead of the fixture, the Sports Minister held a press briefing where he announced that government had cut what he described as “unjustifiable” expenses from the Black Stars budget submitted by the Ghana Football Association.

Speaking to JoySports, Sannie Daara criticised the timing of the minister’s comments, which came just 48 hours before the game.

“The minister’s statement 48 hours to the game was completely needless,” he said.

“If there were issues about the budget, it wasn’t presented just a week or two before. It could have been raised two or three months earlier. To make such a major statement so close to the match was a wrong approach.”

He continued, “Any sane person would conclude that the minister’s statement affected the players. It was wrongly timed, needless, and could have been avoided. The team were doing well until this distraction popped up.”

Despite the setback, Ghana remain top of Group I with 16 points, three ahead of Madagascar and four clear of Mali after seven rounds of matches. The Black Stars now shift focus to a crucial home clash against Mali at the Accra Sports Stadium on Monday.