Communications Director for Accra Great Olympics Emmanuel Saint Osei has criticized the Black Meteors’ performance at the U-23 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), claiming that his team would have performed better.
Ghana failed to advance to the next stage of the tournament after losing 5-1 to Morocco and drawing 1-1 with Guinea. This means that they will miss out on the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, extending their absence from the competition to at least 24 years.
Saint Osei expressed his dissatisfaction with the performance of the Black Meteors, as well as other national teams in recent months. He said that his team, Great Olympics, would have performed “considerably better” than the Meteors did at the AFCON.
“When we won our first match against Congo, for me it wasn’t the time for our coaches to go and sleep,” Saint Osei said. “Congo was a tough side, in fact, all the teams we faced are better sides. So I was expecting that till the last whistle is blown, then we will have the opportunity to celebrate and do something else.”
Saint Osei also criticized the goals that Ghana conceded against Morocco, saying that they “should not have happened.” He added that “errors that were created were not supposed to be done by this particular team, it is very sad.”
Great Olympics narrowly escaped relegation from the Ghana Premier League in the just-ended season, finishing 14th with 45 points after beating Nsoatreman in their final clash.
Saint Osei’s comments have sparked a debate about the state of Ghanaian football. Some have agreed with his assessment, while others have defended the Black Meteors.
Only time will tell whether Great Olympics would have performed better than the Black Meteors at the AFCON. However, Saint Osei’s comments have certainly raised some interesting questions about the current state of Ghanaian football.
