Experienced Ghanaian coach Karim Zito has attributed the struggles of the Ghana senior men's national team to a lack of consistent production of talents at the junior and youth level.
The Black Stars struggles continues to be a national shame with the team failing to qualify for the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations for the first time in 20-years.
Prior to the failure to book a slot in Morocco this year, the four-time African champions suffered a Round of 16 exit in Egypt in 2019 before two successive group stage exits in Cameroon and Ivory Coast at the 2021 and 2023 editions.
Zito, who is credited with developing talents like Abdul Fatawu Issahaku, asserts that the West African nation must have a structure that seeks to nurture talents consistently.
“What is troubling the Black Stars? Why are we always searching for new players?”
“It’s because our junior teams are not producing top talent consistently, and that’s down to poor development structures,” Zito told Graphic Sports.
"The media also plays a role, they keep attacking coaches instead of supporting long-term growth. We focus too much on instant results, but you can’t achieve success without first laying strong foundations,” he added.
“How many of our senior players today actually came through the junior ranks?”
Zito, 64, has coached Ghana’s top clubs Asante Kotoko and Hearts of Oak. He led Ghana’s U-20 national team to win the 2021 U-20 Africa Cup of Nations in Mauritania.
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