Former FIFA Under-20 World Cup winner with Ghana, Emmanuel Agyeman-Badu, reckons the way the Black Stars of Ghana would return to the pinnacle of African and World football is when the junior national teams and the Ghana Premier League are well developed.
Following yet another stuttering result in the 2025 TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers on Thursday, October 10, the chances of Ghana booking a place at the biggest football tournament in Africa appear to be in jeopardy.
Despite putting up a spirited performance against Sudan, the Black Stars struggled to find the back of the net after several missed chances by notably Mohammed Kudus and Issahaku Fatawu.
Agyeman-Badu, who came up through the “traditional” system, i.e., the rise to the senior ranks through the junior ranks.
Prior to his move to Europe, Agyeman-Badu came into the limelight while at Berekum Arsenal, which earned him a loan move to one of the biggest clubs in the local league, Asante Kotoko, in 2008.
“This is football. It happened to Germany, Spain, England, and Italy. When you lose your glory, it is gone. To regain the glory, you restrategize. It will take time. Let the people understand that. You rely on two things. One is the junior national teams and the local league,” he said on Max FM’s Sports Pack show to Muatala Yakubu.
He cited the era of Ghanaian legendary coach Emmanuel Afranie as an example after a handful of his squad that participated at the 2001 FIFA U-20 World Cup were promoted to the senior national team, as well as the era of another legendary world cup-winning coach, Sellas Tetteh, which he [Agyeman-Badu] was part of.
