Former Kotoko and Ghana legend Samuel Opoku Nti
Former Asante Kotoko and Ghana legend Samuel Opoku Nti has questioned why Kumasi Asante Kotoko or the Black Stars will think of hiring a white coach.
He says white coaches have achieved very little for Kumasi Asante Kotoko and the Black Stars considering the largess and respect these expatriate coaches are given.
Kumasi Asante Kotoko have won the Ghana Premier League title 23 times, and the CAF Champions League twice but all these titles have been won with a local coach in charge.
While the Black Stars of Ghana have won the African Cup of Nations on four different occasions with all these titles being won by local coaches.
According to Opoku Nti who helped Kotoko win the 1983 Champions League title and Ghana win the 1982 AFCON, if he had any power he would never hire any expatriate coach for Kotoko or Black Stars.
Samuel Opoku Nti was appointed Kotoko General Manager from 2013-2016 where he helped the team win the League and FA Cup double.
In an interview with Kumasi-based Silver FM, Opoku Nti advised that Asante Kotoko should prioritize hiring competent local coaches and giving them the needed support to succeed. It is an example he wants Ghana Football at large to follow.
“This is my personal opinion, I don’t think white coaches have helped Ghana, whether Asante Kotoko or Ghana or any other club. At the end of the day what happened,” Opoku Nti told Silver FM.
“Our terrain is not really suitable for the white coaches. So we the administrators need to seriously give this a thought. The kind of support we give these white coaches, our local coaches are deprived of such.
“But when things go south for the white coaches we fail to condemn them equally as we do to our local coaches in same or similar circumstances.
“But look at the working conditions we make for our local coaches. They are poor as compared to the white coaches but we criticize them more than we do the whites.
“Asante Kotoko should dive deep into their history, no white coach has won an African competition for the club. Even how many white coaches have won the local league for Kotoko. So let’s look at this critically and give our local coaches the needed support and respect
“The song that we keep playing, this is our own, let’s cherish our own, are we cherishing our local coaches. If I have power, no white man will Coach my team,” he boldly stated.