The Ghana Football Association (GFA) and the Ministry of Sports and Recreation have constituted a five-member Search Committee to oversee the recruitment of a new head coach for the Black Stars.
The decision follows a crunch meeting between the leadership of the GFA and the Sports Ministry in Accra on Friday, October 2, 2026, as both institutions seek to address the immediate and wider challenges surrounding Ghana football especially the senior national team.
The committee will be chaired by former GFA Vice-President Fred Pappoe, whose long experience in Ghana football administration makes him the most senior football administrator on the panel.
Pappoe served as GFA Vice-President from 2005 to 2011 and was also chairman of the Black Stars Management Committee during a period in which Ghana qualified for the 2006 and 2010 FIFA World Cups.
His previous involvement with the senior national team gives the committee chairman direct experience of the administrative structures surrounding the Black Stars, including during Ghana’s historic run to the quarter-finals of the 2010 World Cup. Pappoe also served on the board of Great Olympics and was involved in football administration for several years.
Pappoe will be supported by former Ghana international Anthony Baffoe, who currently serves as General Secretary of the Professional Footballers Association of Ghana (PFAG).
The other members are legal practitioner and football administrator Agbesi Dzakpasu, former Black Stars captain Stephen Appiah and high-performance specialist Faisal Chibsah.
The committee’s mandate is to identify, assess and recommend a suitable candidate for the vacant Black Stars coaching position. Its report will subsequently be submitted to the GFA.
The formation of the committee comes at a critical moment for the Black Stars, who are searching for a new coach after Carlos Queiroz and the GFA mutually agreed to end their working relationship on Thursday, October 1.
Search Committee Takes Centre Stage After Queiroz Exit
Queiroz’s departure followed Ghana’s difficult opening to the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign. The Black Stars lost 2-0 to Côte d’Ivoire in Bouaké before suffering a 4-2 defeat to The Gambia at the Accra Sports Stadium.
The two defeats left Ghana without a point from its opening two Group C matches, having already missed the 2025 AFCON tournament in Morocco. Ghana are now required to recover in their remaining qualifying fixtures against Côte d’Ivoire, The Gambia and Somalia, with two teams from the group set to qualify for the tournament.
The appointment process also follows the wider discussions between the GFA and the Sports Ministry over the management of Ghana’s national teams.
Among the directives emerging from Friday’s meeting was a proposal for a National Technical Management Committee made up of two government-appointed experts and two GFA representatives. The GFA is also expected not to appoint a new Black Stars coach without the involvement of the proposed technical structure.
The Ministry further called for the dissolution of the existing national team management committees and their replacement with separate management structures for men’s and women’s football.
It also wants the youth national team pathway consolidated, with government participating in the selection of coaches for the U15, U17 and U20 teams. Other proposals include restoring state-provided accommodation for the Black Stars head coach and formalising cooperation between the Ministry and GFA through a FIFA-standard agreement.
The five-member search committee therefore becomes the first major practical outcome from the discussions between the two institutions.
Its composition brings together football administration, former international experience, legal expertise and high-performance knowledge as Ghana begins the process of identifying Queiroz’s successor.
The GFA and the Ministry have pledged that the recruitment process will be transparent and merit-based, with the committee expected to evaluate candidates before submitting its recommendation to the football association.
For the Black Stars, the eventual appointment will come with an immediate responsibility to revive Ghana’s AFCON qualification campaign and provide stability following the departure of Queiroz.
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