Edwin Nii Lante Vanderpuye
Former Sports Minister Edwin Nii Lante Vanderpuye has questioned the process that led to the appointment of Carlos Queiroz as head coach of the Black Stars.
His comments follow Ghana’s poor start to the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign, with the Black Stars losing their opening two Group C matches.
Ghana suffered a 2-0 defeat to Côte d’Ivoire before surrendering a 2-0 lead to lose 4-2 against The Gambia at the Accra Sports Stadium.
Vanderpuye, who served as Sports Minister from 2015 to 2017, questioned the transparency of the Ghana Football Association’s (GFA) recruitment process.
“I don’t trust the procedures, the process by which this coach (Carlos Queiroz) was appointed. When did the Black Stars inform you and me that they were going to look for a coach? They told us they had over 99 applications; all of a sudden, a coach was appointed,” he told Joy FM.
He also questioned whether Queiroz’s profile was suitable for the type of team Ghana wanted to build.
“I have studied his profile; he is not the sort of coach (the Black Stars needed), unless those who sat in the meeting to consider that application did not know the kind of Black Stars they are looking for,” he added.
Queiroz replaced Otto Addo earlier this year and guided Ghana to qualification for the 2026 World Cup.
However, the Portuguese coach is under pressure after the successive defeats left Ghana without a point from their first two AFCON qualifiers.
The Black Stars will face Somalia in a double-header in October as they seek to revive their qualification campaign and return to the AFCON after missing the 2025 tournament in Morocco.
BY Wletsu Ransford