Veteran Ghanaian coach Karim Zito has identified a lack of consistency and continuity as the major factors behind the decline of Ghanaian football.
Ghana’s football scene has seen a downturn in recent years. While the Black Queens have secured a return to the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) for the first time since 2018, the men’s senior national team, the Black Stars, has struggled.
Consecutive group-stage exits at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) have been compounded by their failure to qualify for the 2025 edition—marking the first time in two decades that Ghana will miss the tournament.
In an interview with Graphic Sports, Zito attributed these struggles to the country’s failure to maintain a structured player development system. He warned that without a proper succession plan, Ghanaian football would continue to decline on the international stage.
According to Zito, the lack of continuity in nurturing young talent has become Ghana’s biggest footballing weakness.
“In the past, players progressed naturally through the ranks, but today, we dismantle teams after every competition and start scouting all over again,” Zito lamented.
The former Asante Kotoko coach, who led Ghana to victory at the 2021 U-20 AFCON, expressed frustration over the practice of disbanding junior teams after each tournament. He believes this has significantly hindered the country’s football development and prevented talented youth players from making a smooth transition to the senior national team.
“That’s our biggest problem—there is no consistency. If a player features for the under-17 team, he should automatically move to the under-19 side. You don’t just discard them and begin afresh,” he added.
Despite leading the Black Satellites to continental glory in 2021, many of the talented youngsters from that squad have yet to break into the senior Black Stars team—a situation Zito sees as a direct consequence of Ghana’s flawed player development system.
