The Sports Writers Association of Ghana (SWAG) has issued one of its sharpest interventions in years, demanding a comprehensive overhaul of football administration and calling on the leadership of the Ghana Football Association (GFA) to reverse the national teams’ decline immediately or step aside in the public interest.
In a statement reported on 1 October 2026 by the Ghana News Agency and expanded by other outlets, SWAG argued that recent results are not isolated failures but symptoms of deeper structural problems. The association said football remains Ghana’s foremost unifying force and a source of national pride, yet performances—especially by the senior men’s team, the Black Stars—have become “dismal, uninspiring, and unacceptable.”
The immediate triggerThe statement followed a disastrous opening to the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers. Ghana lost 2-0 away to Côte d’Ivoire in Bouaké, then surrendered a 2-0 lead at the Accra Sports Stadium to lose 4-2 to The Gambia. Ernest Nuamah and Felix Afena-Gyan had put the Black Stars ahead before The Gambia completed a comeback. The results left Ghana bottom of Group C with zero points.
Portuguese coach Carlos Queiroz, reappointed only weeks earlier September 2026, accepted responsibility after the Gambia defeat and apologised to fans. On 1 October the GFA and Queiroz mutually terminated his contract after just 29 days.
.In his parting statement he noted that “the necessary conditions were not fully established” and that recent performances contributed to the decision. Queiroz’s short second spell produced a poor record; SWAG and others have described his exit as the latest of roughly seven coaching changes since 2019.
Core demands
SWAG called for a fundamental reset rather than cosmetic fixes. Key elements include:
• A comprehensive overhaul of football administration, with clear accountability at every level of the GFA.
• Merit-based appointments to technical and administrative positions, grounded in competence, proven track records and technical expertise, and the depoliticisation of national-team management.
• A transparent process for selecting the next Black Stars coach and technical staff.
• Strengthening of domestic competitions, which SWAG described as the foundation for producing players capable of progressing into the national teams. Junior sides were also described as stagnating.
• A shift to a “modern and scientific” approach to managing national teams, replacing what the association called an outdated model driven by sentiment.
The latest results sit against a longer slide. Ghana failed to qualify for the 2025 AFCON—the first such absence in 24 years—ending a long run of consecutive appearances.