Former Ghana international Augustine Arhinful has warned that the failure to pay coaches of the country’s junior national teams could expose player selection to undue influence and undermine the development of young footballers.
Arhinful has urged the Ghana Football Association (GFA) to improve the working conditions of local coaches and give them greater independence to nurture young talents for the senior national team.
Speaking on Ahenfie FM, the former striker expressed concern about what he described as excessive interference in the work of coaches, particularly those managing the junior national teams.
“Local coaches have to position themselves well. That’s why we say the coaches are being micro-managed, especially the junior national teams. If we don’t get it right from there, we won’t get it right at the top,” he said.
Arhinful also questioned the difference in the remuneration of the Black Stars’ technical team and coaches responsible for developing players at the junior level.
He claimed that while the Black Stars head coach and his assistant receive salaries, local coaches appointed to junior national teams often work without payment.
“Have you heard that a local coach in charge of any of our national teams has been paid before? The Black Stars coach and the assistant are paid, but where the development of the players begins to reach the senior level, they are not being paid. It’s like we are doing them a favour,” he added.
The former Ghana international warned that leaving youth coaches unpaid could make them vulnerable to financial inducements from individuals seeking to secure places for particular players in national team squads.
Drawing on his experience as a committee member, Arhinful said he had witnessed situations that raised concerns about the potential consequences of failing to remunerate coaches. However, he was careful not to suggest that such conduct was common among all coaches.
“If we don’t pay coaches, they can be influenced because I’ve seen this happen before as a committee member. But I can’t generalise it as the norm,” he said.
He explained that financial difficulties could create opportunities for individuals to influence selection decisions by offering money in exchange for the inclusion of their preferred players.
“In such instances, someone can bring his player to the coach for selection, and because he hasn’t been paid, he will take the player after taking an amount from the person. That’s all I’m trying to say,” he said.
Arhinful stressed that addressing the concerns was particularly important at the junior level, where young footballers begin their journey towards potentially representing the Black Stars.
He believes that timely payment, improved working conditions and greater autonomy for coaches would strengthen accountability and help ensure that players are selected on merit rather than through personal connections or financial inducements.
The former striker maintained that improving the management of youth football would help Ghana build a stronger pipeline of talent for the senior national team.
“If we can correct these little things, then we can be able to tell which player qualified to play in the Black Stars,” he concluded.
