Ibrahim Tanko has revealed that two Ghana Football Association [GFA] Executive Committee members wanted him to fail.
Tanko, who was in charge of the Ghana U-23 side, the Black Meteors, qualified the team for the 2019 Africa U-23 in Egypt against all odds over Algeria after two legs.
The Black Meteors were held to a 1-1 draw by Algeria at the Accra Sports Stadium on September 6, 2019, in the first leg.
Prior to the second leg, almost the entire nation did not give the Meteors the slightest chance of qualifying for the tournament in Egypt.
However, a Yaw Yeboah goal for Ghana in the return leg, four days later in Algiers, saw the Black Meteors book qualification with a 2-1 aggregate.
According to Tanko, some Exco members of the GFA wished he failed to qualify because he dropped their players.
“Sometimes it is very difficult because of some of the players whose managers are Exco members,” Tanko, who is a former Black Stars assistant coach told Joy Sports’ Muftawu Nabila in an interview.
“So, sometimes it is not easy to drop a player.
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“I can tell you even when we played against Algeria here [in Ghana] and had a 1-all drawn game, I know two exco-members who were very happy because I dropped their players for that match.
“So all of them, I think most Ghanaians thought we were going to lose since we played 1-1 here in Ghana.
“We went there to qualify to Egypt but if I tell you why I dropped the players, [you will realise] I even saved them.
“Because if I come out to give the reason for which I dropped them, I will have collapsed their career.
“So let’s leave it there and move on,” he added.
Ghana failed to win the tournament, finishing 4th after losing to South Africa 6-5 on penalty shootouts.
The defeat meant Ghana also missed out on the 2020 Olympics Games in Tokyo, Japan set for this year.
