{"id":255688,"date":"2024-11-26T09:58:17","date_gmt":"2024-11-26T09:58:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/11\/26\/black-stars-afcon-fiasco-extremely-embarrassing\/"},"modified":"2024-11-26T09:58:17","modified_gmt":"2024-11-26T09:58:17","slug":"black-stars-afcon-fiasco-extremely-embarrassing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/11\/26\/black-stars-afcon-fiasco-extremely-embarrassing\/","title":{"rendered":"Black Stars&#8217; AFCON fiasco extremely embarrassing"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Ernest Thompson, a former Management Committee Member of the Black Stars, has described as \u201cextremely embarrassing\u201d Ghana\u2019s failure to qualify for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).<\/p>\n<p>The 2025 AFCON, set to take place in Morocco from December 23, 2025, to January 18, 2026, marks the first time since 1988 that the North African country will host the continental competition. 24 Nations will battle for the title, with Cote D\u2019Ivoire as the defending champion.<\/p>\n<p>Ghana\u2019s qualification campaign ended dismally, as the Black Stars finished at the bottom of Group F without a single victory in six matches. The team\u2019s poor performance included failing to secure any home wins, a shocking low point for the once-dominant football nation.<\/p>\n<p>Key results in the campaign included a 1-0 loss to Angola in Kumasi, a goalless draw against Sudan, and a 2-1 defeat to Niger at the Accra Sports Stadium.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSimply put, the situation we find ourselves in is extremely embarrassing. Of course, we\u2019ve missed the AFCON about six times. I remember when Rwanda took us off [in 2003] and we couldn\u2019t go to one [in 2004], but this is extremely embarrassing for a lot of reasons, none the least being the fact that the team itself is not playing well,\u201d JoySports Link on Joy FM.<\/p>\n<p>He called for swift and decisive action to tackle the issues affecting the Black Stars, warning that inaction could lead to long-term consequences.<\/p>\n<p>While he expressed optimism about the possibility of recovery, he emphasized that it hinges on the decisions made at this crucial moment.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat is important for now is that we need cool heads and to take drastic decisions. If we don\u2019t have the leaders to take the drastic decisions, we will just tingle with things and we will be where we are.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s light at the end of the tunnel, but it depends on what decisions we take now because what I hear talking to them is extremely frightening. Unfortunately, my good friends at the FA; those at the top have brought something upon themselves, and if they don\u2019t take care, the fire will engulf them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>#GhanaPolls2024<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>#CitiVerify<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>#ElectionBureau<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u2014\u2013<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Explore the world of impactful news with CitiNewsroom on WhatsApp!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Click on the link to join the Citi Newsroom channel for curated, meaningful stories tailored just for YOU: https:\/\/whatsapp.com\/channel\/0029VaCYzPRAYlUPudDDe53x<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>No spam, just the stories that truly matter! #StayInformed #CitiNewsroom #CNRDigital<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ernest Thompson, a former Management Committee Member of the Black Stars, has described as \u201cextremely embarrassing\u201d Ghana\u2019s failure to qualify for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON). The 2025 AFCON, set to take place in Morocco from December 23, 2025, to January 18, 2026, marks the first time since 1988 that the North African [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":255689,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-255688","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-local-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Black Stars&#039; AFCON fiasco extremely embarrassing - Ghanamma.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2024\/11\/26\/black-stars-afcon-fiasco-extremely-embarrassing\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Black Stars&#039; AFCON fiasco extremely embarrassing - Ghanamma.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Ernest Thompson, a former Management Committee Member of the Black Stars, has described as \u201cextremely embarrassing\u201d Ghana\u2019s failure to qualify for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON). 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