Veteran coach, Josef Emmanuel Sarpong, has described the alleged manipulation of national coaches in player selection as a canker that has been hanging in the corridors of Ghana football for ages.

He, therefore, challenged national coaches to be principled enough to insert clauses that frown on interference in team selection in their contracts to curb any form of interference.

“National coaches appointed by the FA must insert a clause in their contracts that frowns on interference in team selection. The consequences of defying such clauses should attract the intervention of FIFA.

“This is likely to instil discipline in their operations to ensure fairness in team selection and improve the standard of play of our national teams,” Coach Sarpong told Daily Graphic in an exclusive interview.

“Of course, the executives can advise but not impose their authority on the coach to allow for free decision-making when it comes to the selection of national players for international matches,” veteran Coach Sarpong stressed.

Debunking the notion that the alleged interference of team selection by officialdom is paramount whenever local coaches are in charge of national teams, coach Sarpong noted that: “foreign coaches have also had their torrid times with the FA, but they almost always have tight contracts that put fear and respect to their work.”

“Few times, management had tried it but it backfired. It is simply about the way a coach carries himself in discharging his duties that prevents interference,” he added.

He opined that if coaches kowtowed to the demands and orchestrations of officialdom, they would be manipulated, hence the need for them to be transparent in their operations and be guided by integrity, devoid of favour and cronyism, to enhance team-building.

Coach Sarpong stated that the latest selection of Black Stars players for the two remaining AFCON qualifiers raised a lot of eyebrows.
He noted that, ”a coach’s decision must be respected as far as his selection or choice of players to play a particular match is concerned, but with the current situation I think the coach might have got it wrong.”