A sitting cabinet minister says Ghana should scrap the national team and its football association and accept a FIFA ban rather than keep patching up a failing side.
Ghana's Minister for Communications, Digital Technology and Innovations, Samuel Nartey George, has called for the Black Stars to be disbanded and the Ghana Football Association (GFA) — the body that runs the game in the country — to be dismissed, after the senior national team lost 4-2 to The Gambia.
The defeat came on Tuesday at the Accra Sports Stadium in a 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier, and it was Ghana's second loss in a row in the campaign.
How the match slipped away
Ghana started well. Ernest Nuamah and Felix Afena-Gyan scored to put the home side 2-0 up. The Gambia then came back to score four times and take all three points.
It followed a 2-0 loss to Ivory Coast in Ghana's opening Group C fixture last Thursday. Two matches, two defeats, and a qualifying campaign that is now in serious trouble.
What the minister said
Adom Online reported that Mr George, who is also the Member of Parliament for Ningo-Prampram, made his call while answering questions from users on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
"Disband the team. Sack the FA. Let FIFA ban us for two years," he wrote, adding that the country should use the time to rebuild properly. He said his position had not changed from what he had argued before, and that "the patchwork is worse" than facing the truth.
The reference to a FIFA ban matters. FIFA, football's world governing body, does not allow governments to interfere in the running of national football associations. Countries whose FAs are dissolved by state action have in the past been suspended from international competition. The minister's comment suggests he is willing to accept that outcome as the price of a reset.
It is worth stressing that this is one minister's personal view expressed on social media, not a decision of government or of the GFA.
What happens next
The Black Stars return to competitive action in October with a double-header against Somalia. Those two matches now carry heavy weight if Ghana is to stay in contention.
The 2027 AFCON will be co-hosted by Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. Ghana is trying to get back to the continental tournament after missing out on the 2025 edition in Morocco — a failure that still shapes how many fans judge the current set-up.
Why Ghanaians abroad are watching
For Ghanaians in the United States and elsewhere, AFCON qualification is often the main fixed point in the football calendar — the tournament that brings communities together around a screen. A second straight failure to qualify would remove that, and it explains why the anger after Tuesday's result has been so loud, including from inside government.
