Otoo Addo and some technical staff
Former Black Stars psychologist Dr. Patrick Ofori has called on the Ghana Football Association (GFA) to further strengthen the national team’s technical staff ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, stressing the need to keep pace with the evolving demands of modern football.
His comments come in the wake of Ghana’s failure to qualify for the most recent Africa Cup of Nations, a setback that prompted the GFA to reshuffle and expand the technical team in January last year.
As part of that process, Desmond Ofei, Winfried Schäfer, and Gregory De Grauwe were brought on board to bolster preparations for the resumption of the World Cup qualifiers.
With Ghana now having booked their place at the 2026 World Cup — to be jointly hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico — Dr. Ofori believes the current setup still requires additional reinforcement if the Black Stars are to compete effectively on the global stage.
“I still think they may need to beef it up because football has evolved,” Dr. Ofori told Citi Sports. “There are teams that have analysts whose sole job is to study opposing defenders — their concentration levels, behaviour, and patterns.”
Ghana has been drawn in Group L and will open their campaign against Panama on June 17 in Toronto, before taking on England in Boston and wrapping up the group stage against Croatia on June 27 in Philadelphia.
After disappointing group-stage exits at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil and the 2022 edition in Qatar, the Black Stars will be eager to make a stronger impression this time around, with Dr. Ofori’s call highlighting the growing importance of technical depth and data-driven preparation in modern international football.
BY Wletsu Ransford
