Black Stars coach Otto Addo and legendary footballers Asamoah Gyan and Michael Essien
The year 2024 has generally been underwhelming for Ghana sports, with little to celebrate and be proud of.
The year saw a number of sporting tournaments, with Ghana participating in several of them. Beyond the African Games, where Ghana amassed 69 medals, the country failed on almost all sporting fronts, with the Black Stars recording failures in the 2023 AFCON and the 2025 AFCON qualifiers.
Beyond the various competitions, some interesting sports stories captured the attention of the country.
As we wind up the year, GhanaWeb brings you five of the biggest sports stories of 2024.
AFCON 2023
The Black Stars of Ghana exited the 2023 AFCON held in Ivory Coast in dramatic fashion. Placed in Group B, the Black Stars exited the tournament without winning a single game.
The team lost to Cape Verde in the opener before drawing with Egypt and Mozambique in the last two group games.
It was the draw with Mozambique that infuriated Ghanaians, as the Black Stars were two goals up by the 85th minute. A late capitulation meant that they drew 2-2.
The GFA, after the tournament, sacked head coach Chris Hughton.
Asamoah Gyan on Bawumia’s campaign team
Another story that caught public attention was the appointment of Asamoah Gyan as chairman of the youth and sports sub-committee of Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia’s manifesto.
Gyan was subsequently spotted at some campaign rallies of the New Patriotic Party.
However, three months before the elections, Asamoah Gyan announced his exit from the NPP, citing his resolve to support the Ghanaian youth as the reason.
It emerged later, however, that the legendary footballer had issues with elements of the Bawumia campaign team.
Michael Essien’s housing saga
In June 2024, news broke that the Commercial Division of the Accra High Court had ordered the auction of two houses owned by legendary Ghanaian footballer Michael Essien.
The reports stated that the houses were located in Accra at Stephen Quarshie Crescent, East Legon (House Number 9), and Trassaco (Phase 2), Adjiringano (House Number 204/205).
It emerged later that Essien had okayed the auctioning of the houses due to the failure of some persons to honor the terms of the agreement they had with him.
2023 African Games
The 13th African Games was held in Ghana in March, with the country finishing sixth after amassing 69 medals.
After a difficult start, where the poor condition of some infrastructure was exposed, the competition later became interesting, with the athletics events being at the center of the excitement.
Later in the year, the budget for the competition became the most topical issue after the Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, revealed the amount of money spent on the competition.
The issue has not been put to rest, with some Ghanaian sports journalists appealing to the incoming Mahama government to probe the issues.
Black Stars fail to qualify for 2025 AFCON
Possibly the biggest sports story of the year. The Black Stars failed to qualify for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations after finishing bottom of Group F of the qualifiers.
The team won none of the six matches played in the qualifiers, losing three and drawing three.
It is the first time in twenty years that Ghana has failed to qualify for the AFCON, and there is huge pressure on the GFA to sack Otto Addo and his technical team.
EK
