World Cup qualification was my highest point in 2013 - Ghana FA boss

Published on: 25 December 2013
World Cup qualification was my highest point in 2013 - Ghana FA boss
Ghana FA boss Kwesi Nyantakyi with Felix Ansong

By Ameenu Shardow, follow on Twittter @alooameenu

Ghana FA boss Kwesi Nyantakyi says the qualification to the 2014 World Cup was his major highlight of the year.

The year started on a disappointing not with the Black Stars missing another chance to win the Nations Cup with a semi final defeat to Burkina Faso in South Africa.

The Black Stars subsequently failed to win the bronze medal in the third-place playoff – losing to Mali to finish fourth.

The year got even worse with the Ghana Premier League kicking off without a headline sponsor.

Telecommunication giants Globacom had failed to honour previous schedule payments and the Ghana FA was so determined not to give them anymore undeserved mileage by kicking them off as headline sponsors of the Ghanaian top flight.

The Ghana U20 side subsequently qualified for the African Youth Championships where they won silver after losing the finals to Egypt with the U17 team crashing out of the African Junior Championships after the group stage.

The Black Stars meanwhile picked up the pieces after the disappointing Nations Cup campaign to progress to the playoff stage of the 2014 World Cup qualification series.

Meanwhile, the Ghana U20 side managed to win bronze at the World Youth Championships hosted in Turkey.

The Black Stars then sealed its qualification to the World Cup after thrashing Egypt 7-3 on aggregate to book its place as one of the 32 team to compete next year in Brazil.

And the Ghana FA boss says Ghana’s third successive World Cup qualification and the fact that it was achieved under a local coach tops his list of major highlights throughout the year.

“The qualification to the World Cup – three successive qualification to the World Cup is no mean achievement,” Nyantakyi said.

“It is a monumental landmark in the annals of the history of football in our country.

“And the fact that it was under a local coach in Akwasi Appiah makes it even better.”

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