Francis Oti Akenteng – Adomonline.com

Oti Akenteng backs Hearts of Oak’s pursuit of Didi Dramani as head coach

Samuel Appiah — Fri, 20 Jun 2025 10:06:23 +0000

Former Technical Director of the Ghana Football Association (GFA), Francis Oti Akenteng, has endorsed Hearts of Oak’s move to appoint Mas-Ud Didi Dramani as head coach ahead of the 2025/26 season.

The former Black Stars assistant coach is currently in advanced talks with the Phobians as the club looks to rebuild following a challenging campaign.

Speaking on Asempa FM’s Ultimate Sports Show, Oti Akenteng lauded Dramani’s professionalism and experience, describing him as the ideal candidate for the job.

“Didi Dramani is evergreen. He is always researching and learning on the job. He has enormous experience, and I believe Hearts of Oak will never regret appointing him,” he said.

“He has worked at CAF, with the Black Stars, and with Asante Kotoko. He knows the work of coaching, and I fully support this decision by the Hearts of Oak hierarchy.”

Oti Akenteng highlighted Dramani’s impressive coaching résumé, which includes stints with the Black Queens, Black Maidens, and his current role with the Black Galaxies. He also served as an assistant coach at Danish club FC Nordsjaelland.

“I have worked with him and I know he is the right person to coach this Hearts of Oak team,” he added.

Meanwhile, current Technical Director Aboubakar Ouattara is expected to step down, with the club already unveiling a new recruitment team to handle player signings for the upcoming season.

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GFA urged to have a criteria of selecting national team captains

Samuel Appiah — Tue, 31 Dec 2024 15:46:50 +0000

Former Technical Director of the Ghana Football Association (GFA), Francis Oti Akenteng, has urged the GFA to create a clear set of guidelines for selecting captains for the national teams.

His remarks come after Otto Addo’s decision to name Mohammed Kudus as the captain of the senior national team for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers against Sudan, bypassing Jordan Ayew in the absence of Thomas Partey.

The move sparked criticism after the Black Stars drew the first leg and lost the return match.

In the subsequent qualifiers against Angola and Niger, Jordan Ayew was reinstated as captain but struggled to lead the team to positive results.

Similarly, internal captaincy issues also reportedly affected the Black Galaxies, led by coach Didi Dramani, ahead of their 2024 CHAN playoffs against Nigeria.

Given these ongoing challenges, Akenteng emphasized the need for the GFA to establish a clear framework for appointing team captains to prevent future complications.

“I think the Ghana Football Association should sit down and come out with laid-down criteria that will be used in appointing national team captains,” he told Asempa FM‘s Ultimate Sports Show.

“Usually, when a new coach comes in, he is unsure whether to maintain the old captain or appoint a new one and when he does, problems arise, even though there is some sort of criteria,” Akenteng added.

GFA to honour ex-Technical Director

Samuel Appiah — Thu, 27 May 2021 15:08:44 +0000

Former Ghana Football Association [GFA] Dechnical Director is set to be honoured by the country’s football governing body, Asempa Sports can report.

The renowned football administrator was replaced by German tactician, Bernhard Lippert last year.

A statement by the FA following Oti Akenteng’s departure read: “The GFA will like to announce that long-serving Technical Director, Francis Oti Akenteng will be vacating the position when his contract expires at the end of March 2020.

“As a result, the GFA is looking for a qualified, proactive and result-oriented person with the ability to work in cross-divisional teams to lead its Technical Department.”

Mr Akenteng was shown the exit after Kurt Okraku was elected as the President of the FA in 2019.

The decision by the FA attracted a lot of criticisms from the public following the exit of Mr Akenteng.

With Mr Akentang and former Ghana coach, Kwesi Appiah not holding any official position in the current administration, the pair are helping to develop and scout players.

The Okraku-led FA will, thus, honour Mr Akenteng for the job he did for the Football Association in the past.

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Under his leadership as the Technical Director of the Ghana FA, Ghana qualified for their maiden appearance to the 2006 World Cup in 2006 in Germany.

Subsequently, the Black Stars played in the 2010 and 2014 World Cup in South Africa and Brazil respectively.

The Ghana U-20 side, the Black Satellites won the Africa Youth Championship and the U-20 World Cup in Egypt.

Mr Akenteng served the GFA in different capacities dating back to 2006 when he was first appointed by the Confederation of African Football as Head of the Technical unit of the GFA.

He was later elevated to FIFA level in 2009 as GFA Technical Director and Head of the Technical Centre, Ghanaman Centre of Excellence, Prampram.

The former Ghana trainer left the position in March 2020 following the expiration of his contract.