Kurt Oraku, President of the Ghana Football Association (GFA), believes the Black Stars’ qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, despite missing out on the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, is clear evidence of the resilience and strength within the national team.
Speaking in an interview with Metro TV, the CAF Second Vice President acknowledged that failure to qualify for AFCON would normally be viewed as a major setback for the country’s football, but insisted that the team’s ability to reorganise and rebound strongly on the global stage highlights a deeper mental and structural growth.

“AFCON for me is a given. We have to be there, and if we are not there, that will be the low side of our sport, but we have been able to organise ourselves, and we have been able to make it to the World Cup.
“That shows the strength of the team that we have. The mindset and the mentality of the people we have. That we went so low, but then within the same period we have gone so high,” Kurt Okraku said.
In his interview, Kurt Okraku noted that he will forever be sad that the Black Stars failed to qualify for AFCON 2025 in Morocco. He believes that it was a missed opportunity to fight for glory on the continental stage.













