Former chairman of the Ghana Football Association, Ben Koufie, is not pleased with Avram Grant's penchant of spending much of his time in Europe instead of monitoring the football in the country.
The respected football man was one of those who interviewed the Israeli for the job in 2014, and says the former Chelsea coach is not honouring his word.
This week has seen the FA, clearly affronted, order the Black stars coach to report to the country immediately. Despite the start of the Ghana Premier league and impending start of the Division One League as well, the coach has been a regular on Barclays Premier League coverage on Sky Sports in the UK.
The GFA has thus asked for his return to local league proceedings as well as to begin preparations for this month’s double-header with Mozambique in 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
Koufie said: “It is wrong. He is the national team coach and must develop football of this country and that can be done when he stays here and sees what is going on in our league”.
According to the administrator, Grant has to go back to the promise he made to Ghanaians that he will reside in the country and help develop local coaches and clubs. “I remember very well when [Grant] was being interviewed [for the job to become Black Stars coach], I asked him whether he was going to stay here in Ghana to help develop local clubs and the coaches as well. So I don’t see why the sudden change”.
“To say that our league is useless and all the players are based in Europe and so you will stay in Europe is highly unfair. That was not the arrangement which the GFA made with him”, Koufie added.
Avram was appointed as the head coach of the Black Stars on November 27, 2014 and led Ghana to the 2015 AFCON final in Equatorial Guinea where they lost on penalties to Ivory Coast.
Source: Myjoyonline