Former Black Stars captain, C.K. Akunnor has blamed poor preparation for the elimination of the national team from the ongoing African Cup of Nations tournament in Mali. The Black Stars lost by a lone goal to the Super Eagles of Nigeria after a lack lutre performance on Sunday.

Akunnor who was unceremoniously dropped as captain before the tournament told JOY FM that although some players are partly responsible for the dwindling fortunes of Ghana’s most popular sport, the biggest problem is that of management.

According to him, it was obvious from the beginning of the tournament that Ghana would not advance beyond the quarter final stage. “If you look at the way we planned it was obvious that we were not going to go far. If we don’t know what we want, we are not going to go far. The guys did not even have clothes to wear and all these showed in their performance. Now I believe they should make things better.”

Football authorities have often accused foreign-based players of arrogance and recently Bayern Munich defender, Osei Kufuor was expelled for indiscipline. C. K. Akunnor believes that although Kufuor had a legitimate reason to complain, his approach might have been wrong. He asked the Ghana Football Authorities to sit up and re-organise the national team.

The former Black Stars captain believes that the CAN 2002 team has prospects, adding that if the players are maintained and encouraged, the team would improve tremendously within two years. He however indicated that he would not play for the team again even if he were invited to do so.

Meanwhile, football fans in Accra have been reacting to the elimination of the Black Stars from the Africa Cup of Nations. While some are disappointed and are calling for the resignation of Coach Osam Duodu, others think mere talking after defeats, will not solve the perennial problems confronting Ghana Football.

Reports from Kumasi say for the first time, some Ghanaian soccer fans jubilated when the Green Eagles of Nigeria beat the Balck Stars. This trend of events is an apparent indication that most Ghanaian soccer fans are tired of the poor administration of football in the country.