Ghana Football Association - The African Cup of Nations

The African Cup of Nations

The Ghana Amateur Football Association was affiliated to CAF in 1958 and in 1963, it won the bid to host the 5th African Cup of Nations to coincide with the Meeting of the (O.A.U.) Heads of States and Government in Accra. Ghana won the trophy and went ahead again to successfully defend it in Tunisia in 1965. By these sterling feats, Ghana Football had become a household word in the African continent. Mr. Ohene Djan was one of the pillars in African Football and in CAF. As one of the then leading political leaders in Africa, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah the First President of the Republic of Ghana used football to chalk political victories as follows:-

(i) he championed the cause of “African personality” in football;

(ii) he used football as a tool to fight against apartheid in South Africa;

(iii) he used football to weld the heterogeneous cultures of Africa together; and

(iv) he used football as a vehicle to place Ghana on the football map of Africa and the World.

In a nutshell, after the 1965 triumph, Ghana hosted and won the 13th edition of the African Cup of Nations trophy for keeps in 1978, and four years later, won it again in Tripoli, Libya. The team have won the African Cup of Nations four times (in 1963, 1965, 1978, and 1982), making Ghana the second most successful team in the contest's history, together with Cameroon; Egypt has won the past three tournaments (2006, 2008, 2010) to give it a record seven titles.

Although the team did not qualify for the senior FIFA World Cup until 2006, Ghana has enjoyed tremendous success at the youth level, winning the FIFA World Under-17 title twice and finishing runner-up twice. Ghana has also finished second at the FIFA World Youth Championship twice as well. Ghana became the 1st African Country to win a medal in Football at the 1992 Summer Olympics. In 2009, Ghana became the first African Country to win the U-20 FIFA World cup by defeating favorite Brazil.

With regard to Women Football, the Ghana’s Black Queens has participated in two World Cup tournaments and the Olympic Games. It has always also been Runners-up to the Falcons of Nigeria in the African Cup of Nations series.

Changing times changing needs. Ghana Football shrugged off its fully Amateur Status to become Professional, enabling clubs to be incorporated under the companies Code (Act 193, 1963) as Limited Liability Companies either by shares or guarantee through the 1993 Famous Winneba Declaration.

With the youngest squad in World Cup 2006, strong displays and a host of top players many regard Ghana as the best national team in the African continent.

Ghana hosted the African Cup of Nations Tournament in January 2008.