Ex-Black Stars Boss Defends African Coaches

A former coach of the Black Stars, Benjamin Koufie, at the weekend  in Abuja said that African coaches should not always be held responsible when their teams failed to achieve good results.

Speaking during the closing ceremony of the CAF C-Licence Coaching Course held at the Abuja National Stadium, Koufie said the coach is only one of the factors that affect results and performance of a team.

The course which was the first of its kind started on September 26 with 80 coaches taking part.

“There are many factors that affect the results and performance of a team. If the factors are unfavourable, you will never get the results.

“But if the factors are favourable, the results will definitely come and the coach is only one of the factors.

However, in Africa the coach is always blamed when the results are not coming.

“Even when other necessary ingredients are not put in place, the coach is expected to perform, and this is not possible,” Koufie, who was the CAF representative at the course’s closing ceremony, said.

The former Black Stars player who had at a point headed the Ghana Football Association (GFA) lamented that Africans only focus on one of the factors necessary for success.

He said it was unfortunate that African football stakeholders always neglect the other factors which are also very important when assessing a coach’s performance.

“In Africa, the factors are not in place and the coach is expected to be a magician and perform very well,’’ Koufie said.

He listed the factors as funding, facilities, equipment, players’ welfare, medical care of the team, behaviour of the spectators and officiating.

Koufie said a team’s performance should always be judged on the contributions of all the factors, pointing out that they all affect the coach’s work and the team’s results.

“If these things are put in place and the results are not coming, then the coach can be sacrificed,” he said.

The former GFA President however commended the Nigeria Football Association (NFA) for making the C-Licence course

a success and expressed the hope that the B-Licence and A-Licence courses would be held very soon.

“I am very happy that the first phase of this course is a success and I hope that more of it will be organised, with

the B-Licence and A-Licence courses, for Nigeria to catch up with countries ahead of it,” he said.