Nii Lante Vanderpuye says the GFA’s coach selection process was never explained to the public, as Ghana sit pointless after two AFCON 2027 qualifiers.
Former Sports Minister Edwin Nii Lante Vanderpuye has publicly challenged the way the Ghana Football Association (GFA) settled on Carlos Queiroz as head coach of the Black Stars, saying the recruitment was never properly opened up to the public.
His remarks, reported by Adom Online, follow Ghana's worst possible opening to the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers: two matches, two defeats, no points.
What he said
Speaking on Joy FM, Vanderpuye said he was not satisfied with how the decision was reached. "I don't trust the procedures, the process by which this coach was appointed," he said, adding that Ghanaians were told there were more than 99 applications before a name suddenly emerged.
He also argued that the Portuguese coach's profile, including his age, did not match the kind of side Ghana says it wants to build. Vanderpuye served as Sports Minister between 2015 and 2017.
The source report does not include any response from the GFA or from Queiroz.
The results behind the criticism
Ghana lost 2-0 to Ivory Coast last Thursday in their first Group C qualifier. Four days later, at the Accra Sports Stadium, the Black Stars went 2-0 up against The Gambia, then collapsed and lost 4-2.
Queiroz is still without a win in the AFCON qualifying campaign. That is a sharp turn from his earlier record with the team: he took over from Otto Addo this year and led Ghana to qualification for the 2026 World Cup, which will be hosted in North America.
Why this matters
Ghana missed out on the 2025 AFCON in Morocco. That failure ended a streak of more than 20 years of unbroken appearances at Africa's biggest football tournament, and it is still raw for many supporters. A second consecutive absence would be a serious blow to a country that considers itself a continental football power.
For Ghanaians in the United States, the stakes are doubled. The 2026 World Cup is coming to North America, which means many in the diaspora could watch the Black Stars live for the first time. The state of the team and the identity of the coach between now and then are therefore not abstract questions.
What happens next
The Black Stars return to action in October with a double-header against Somalia at the Accra Sports Stadium. Six points from those two games would put the campaign back on track; anything less and the pressure on Queiroz, and on the GFA that hired him, will grow.
For now, Ghana sit bottom of the group conversation with nothing from two fixtures, and the debate at home has shifted from tactics to the hiring process itself.
