Ghana’s penalty woes have aroused the fury of Youth and Sports Minister, Isaac Asiamah who has lashed out at players of the national teams for their consistent failure when it comes to penalty shootouts.
Ghana’s perennial struggle with penalties is well documented and the latest to add to that poor record is the Black Meteors that missed out on the 2020 Olympic Games after losing to South Africa on penalties at the 2019 under-23 AFCON.
The Meteors’ defeat has heightened calls for the government and the Ghana Football Association (GFA) to find a panacea to the problem.
Speaking at a Meet-the-Press session on Wednesday, December 4, Mr Asiamah announced that the ministry will in the coming days deliberate with the GFA to review the technical aspect of Ghana football.
Among the reviews, he asserts will be tasking of the technical directorate to draw up a plan that will detail how the situation can be remedied.
He wondered why players miss the goal post from just 12 yards.
“Penalty shootout, just score and let us celebrate too has become an issue. Common penalty and you fluff it and you will see the whole nation their hearts are broken. And the minister now becomes the victim. In Egypt, as if I took the penalty. Everybody was blaming me and I asked how. Me and you (referring to the GFA President) need to create a direction for Ghana football so I admit it”, he said.
The assurance by the Sports Minister follows a similar comment by Technical Director of the GFA that the association will embark on a research into penalty shootouts.
“We will do a research into penalty shootouts. Fortunately, a Doctor at the University of Cape Coast has done an extensive research on penalty shootouts. We will soon engage him,” he added.
