Ghana Football Deserves a New Direction, Not Another Kurt Okraku Term – Hon. Seth Panwum Boyoyo
The question Ghana football stakeholders must seriously ask themselves is simple: what compelling reason is there for Kurt Okraku to seek a third term as President of the Ghana Football Association?
Okraku has been at the helm since 2019 and was re-elected in 2023. His administration has now had enough time to demonstrate what it can do. The issue is no longer about promises or intentions. It is about results.
And on the most important measure of football administration, the record is deeply disappointing.
The Black Stars’ failure to qualify for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations was one of the lowest points in Ghana’s football history. Ghana, a country that has won the AFCON four times and traditionally been one of Africa’s leading football nations, failed to reach the tournament after a disastrous qualifying campaign. The Guardian described the situation as a failure of leadership, organisation and direction, while pointing to the instability surrounding the national team and the repeated changes in coaching.
Qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup provided some relief, but it does not erase the broader concerns about the direction of Ghana football. Ghana subsequently exited the tournament at the round-of-32 stage after a 1-0 defeat to Colombia. Even the national team’s technical direction has remained unsettled, with Carlos Queiroz recently being reappointed after initially leaving the position following the World Cup.
At the domestic level, there have certainly been champions and competitions, but that alone cannot be presented as evidence of transformational leadership. Samartex and Bibiani Gold Stars have won recent Premier League titles, yet Ghanaian clubs continue to face serious financial, infrastructural, administrative and competitive challenges. The question should therefore be whether Ghana football as a system is significantly stronger than it was when Okraku assumed office.
That is where the case for continuity becomes difficult to sustain.
More troubling is the impression that the administration has increasingly become focused on institutional survival and the preservation of influence rather than creating a credible succession plan. In 2025, the GFA Congress approved a constitutional amendment allowing a president to serve a maximum of three terms. The amendment reportedly received 114 votes from 124 Congress members present.
Kurt Okraku has now refused to rule out using that amendment to pursue a third term.
That decision deserves serious scrutiny.
A constitutional provision may make a third term possible, but eligibility is not the same as justification. The real question is whether the football community has seen enough progress to warrant another four-year mandate.
For investors, sponsors, clubs, supporters and other stakeholders in Ghana football, the focus should not be on personalities. It should be on measurable outcomes: stronger domestic competitions, financially sustainable clubs, better infrastructure, credible officiating, effective youth development, stronger women’s football, improved national-team performance and transparent administration.
There is also a wider governance question. Ghana football emerged from the devastating crisis that led to the dissolution of the GFA in 2018. The post-crisis era should therefore have been about rebuilding public confidence and establishing institutions that are stronger than individuals. Allowing the presidency to become a prolonged personal political project would run contrary to that objective.
There is nothing wrong with Kurt Okraku pursuing opportunities within CAF or FIFA. His experience at the international level can be valuable to Ghana. But international responsibilities should not become a substitute for delivering results at home.
The presidency of the GFA should not be treated as a permanent career position. It is a public football trust.
After seven years, Ghana deserves to ask whether the current leadership has delivered enough to merit another mandate. If the answer is no, then the responsible thing is not to change the rules simply because another term is available. It is to open the door for a new generation of leadership, fresh ideas and a different approach to rebuilding Ghana football.
The future of Ghana football must be bigger than any individual, and no administrator should be allowed to become more important than the institution he or she is elected to serve.
Editor:
Obiri-Yeboah
