The Confederation of African Football (Caf) says the number of Ghanaian clubs participating in continental competitions has been reduced because of the lack of interest from teams in the country.
As a result of that, Ghana's Caf Club ranking has dropped to the 13th position - one place short of the two places given to the 12 highly ranked countries.
Caf says the withdrawal of Ghanaian clubs in continental club competitions has negatively affected the ranking of Ghana as one of the countries with two places in the Champions League and Confederation Cup.
Several Ghanaian clubs including giants Hearts of Oak, Asante Kotoko, Heart of Lions and Berekum Arsenal have withdrawn from continental competitions citing lack of funds.
Their absence means Ghana’s place as one of the countries with top clubs has been reduced as dictated by Caf regulations.
“The 12 countries obtaining the best results in the clubs competitions during the previous five years will be allowed to register a second team, namely the runner-up of the national league,†a Caf statement quoted Article 1 of its club competitions regulations.
“If the champion club is not engaged, the concerned country will be authorized to register only one club.†Ghana, which used to boast two representatives in the Champions League and two in the Confederation Cup, will now have just one team in each competition from next season onwards due to "inadequate results". Asante Kotoko of Kumasi were the last Ghanaian team to qualify for the final eight-team phase of both the Champions League, in 2006, and the second-tier Confederation Cup, in 2008. Ghanaian teams have also become synonymous with repeated withdrawals from continental tournaments. Hearts of Oak, national champions in 2009, did not compete in the 2010 Champions League and teams from Ghana also pulled out of the Confederation Cup in 2007 and 2009. In 2011, Ghana will be represented in the Champions League by Aduana and in the Confederation Cup by AshantiGold, who finished first and second respectively in the 2010 national championship.
Here are the best 12 ranking of African clubs:
1-Tunisia
2-Egypt
3-Nigeria
4-Sudan
5-RD Congo
6-Algeria
7-Morocco
8-Mali
9-Cameroon
10-CIV
11-Angola
12-Zimbabwe
13-Ghana
14-South Africa