Former Minister for Youth and Sports Edwin Nii Lante Vanderpuye fears for the future of Ghana football if things are not changed.
Vanderpuye, who held the position of Minister for Youth and Sports from 2015 to 2017, has been left disappointed by the abysmal performances of Ghana’s national teams at major tournaments.
The member of Parliament for the Odododiodio constituency has been appalled by the lack of adequate sponsorship and patronage in Ghana’s leagues.
Ghana’s leading clubs have continually failed at CAF interclub competitions with their stocks declining while the value of the Ghana football economy keeps declining.
“All the [English] Premier [League] clubs have junior levels – U21, U19 – playing in a league. So the system is built in a way there will always be an infusion of new, younger faces into the national sphere.
“What do we see here? We wait until we have a tournament; we invite somebody here, we call somebody from here, put them together and play. We can never achieve results when we continue to do that.
“It’s like we plan to fail,” Vanderpuye explained to Joy Sports.
“They used to have people like Calvert-Lewin, Foden and Greenwood – all these people were part of the team, but they’ve moved on.
“In the next four years, those playing in the U17 tournament will be there.”
