Henry Asante Twum, the Ghana Football Association (GFA) Communications Director, has disclosed that the newly appointed Black Stars Coach, Chris Hughton’s Ghanaian father is dead.

The Ghana Football Association (GFA) Communications Director explained that the loss of Chris Hughton’s father is the main reason for the delay in unveiling him as the new Black Stars coach.

The former Brighton manager was appointed two weeks ago and was expected to be unveiled before March 2023, but he opted to stay behind in the United Kingdom for some time following his father’s passing. Hughton is now expected to arrive in Ghana next week for his unveiling.

“Chris had to stay in the UK because he lost his dad and needed time with his family and plan the burial service. That’s why he’s not been to Ghana yet. We expect Chris in Ghana next week if everything goes according to plan. We are constantly engaging on his unveiling, media engagement, and build-up to the games.”
Henry Asante Twum

According to Mr Henry Twum, the unveiling ceremony of Ghana’s coach and the coaching staff, and the squad announcements for the Angola doubleheader are also expected to be made.

“He is working, Chris and his assistants will be unveiled together. When he arrives, we will communicate the date and venue for his unveiling and then use that as part of the build-up to the game against Angola. There will also be squad announcements, details of the contract, and the targets set for the new technical team.”
Henry Asante Twum

CAN Qualifications Around the Corner

Meanwhile, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Executive Committee approved a revised TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations Cote d’Ivoire 2023 qualification calendar. According to CAF, this was necessitated by the CAF Executive Committee’s commitment to make room for the African nations that have qualified for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 in November/ December 2022 to prepare adequately.

Consequently, the 2023 TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations Cote d’Ivoire match day three and match day four qualifiers have been moved to 20-28 March 2023. Match day five will now be on 12-20 June 2023 while match day six will be played on 4-12 September 2023.

Ghana will play Angola in the Kumasi on March 23, 2023 before travelling to Luanda for the reverse fixture four days later. The Black Stars are joint top of Group E alongside Angola with both teams with four points after two games.

Based on this, it is very imperative on the coach and the technical team to prepare adequately in order to win the remaining matches to make qualifications easier.

Hughton was born in England to Willie Hughton, a Ghanaian postman, and his Irish wife, Christine (née Bourke). Hughton played for the Republic of Ireland and scored one goal in his 53 appearances for the team.