Former Asante Kotoko and Hearts of Oak star Charles Taylor believes that the current state of Ghanaian clubs falls short of the quality required to compete at the highest level, such as winning the CAF Champions League and qualifying for the Club World Cup.
Hearts of Oak were the last Ghanaian club to win the CAF Champions League in 2000. Since then, no other team from Ghana have made it to the final. The last time a Ghanaian club reached the group stage of the competition was Berekum Chelsea in 2012.
North African teams have dominated the CAF Champions League, with Morocco’s Wydad AC and Egypt’s Al Ahly earning the right to represent Africa at the 2022 World Cup. Al Ahly will now compete in the third-place playoff against Brazil’s Flamengo.
“Our league lack quality, some players are currently playing both Kotoko and Hearts but do not deserve it,” Taylor said on Kumasi-based Akoma FM.
“But you can’t blame them, some players are recruited from 2nd Divisions and walk straight into the starting eleven, and just after a season or two, these players leave the country.”
“How can you win Africa with just players who play less than a season and are transferred out? It will take us about thirty years or over before we can win it.”
“Just look at how Al Ahly is playing. When was the last time any of our clubs purchased a player outside Ghana who has a running contract? We always want free players whilst our competitors are busily recruiting top-notch players.”
According to Taylor, the constant sale of the league’s top talent to foreign clubs is hindering progress and preventing Ghanaian teams from competing at the highest level.
The former star emphasized the need to retain the best players and invest in the league to ensure that Ghanaian teams can compete with the best in Africa and beyond.
“If we don’t stop these free-agent player things, we can’t match them,” he said.
“God will not even allow us to win or draw against them. You don’t sell your quality and still expect results.”
“It will be difficult if not impossible to see a Ghanaian Club winning the CAF champions league or playing in the Club World Cup.”
Source: By Fiifi Forson