Ghana must invest beyond the senior national team if it wants to consistently compete for and win major international football trophies, Black Stars coach Carlos Queiroz has said.
The Portuguese coach said sustainable success would depend on a broader football development strategy covering youth development, education, infrastructure, logistics and medical facilities.
Speaking at a news conference in Accra ahead of Ghana’s 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers, Queiroz said the country had the potential to achieve success but needed to strengthen the structures supporting football development.
“Ghana has all the conditions to win trophies. But you cannot put your resources in one basket – players or coach,” he said.
“You have to put resources in player development, youth education, facilities, infrastructure, logistics and medical capabilities. If you fail in those compartments, you cannot succeed.”
Queiroz’s comments come ahead of a demanding international schedule, with Ghana set to face Côte d’Ivoire in Bouake on September 24 before hosting The Gambia at the Accra Sports Stadium on September 29, 2026.
The Black Stars are also scheduled to play Morocco in an international friendly during the period.
The coach said while immediate results remained important, Ghana’s football ambitions could not be sustained without developing a strong pipeline of players and improving the conditions under which they trained and competed.
He also raised concerns about frequent changes to the national team, saying instability in player availability had made it difficult to develop the continuity required at international level.
“You can’t change seven, eight or 10 players every time the national team plays and expect to succeed,” Queiroz said.
He said Ghana needed to build the team around a dependable core of players, stressing the importance of availability, commitment and accountability.
The Black Stars will enter the upcoming fixtures with several player-availability challenges.
Nathaniel Adjei, Jan Gyamerah and Prince Kwabena Adu are unavailable because of injuries, while Mohammed Kudus, who recently recovered from injury, has withdrawn from the squad.
Queiroz has consequently added Jonas Adjetey, Alidu Seidu, Brandon Thomas-Asante, Mohammed Fuseni, Rahim Ibrahim and Ebenezer Annan to the squad.
Despite the setbacks, the coach said the team remained focused on its preparations.
Using the image of a boat facing difficult conditions, he said: “We have a few holes in the boat, but we keep sailing strong.”
Queiroz also rejected the suggestion that a particular playing style should take precedence over winning results.
“My style of football is the winning style,” he said.
“I never saw coaches lose their job because of style. They lose their job because they don’t win. Winning makes the style. Winning makes the fashion. That’s the law of the game.”
He said the immediate objective was therefore to build a competitive team while ensuring that Ghana’s wider football system received the investment required to produce sustained success.
