Chris Hughton appointed Black Stars coach

The Ghana Football Association (GFA) has appointed Chris Hughton as the new head coach of the Black Stars.

The FA confirmed the experienced coach as the successor to interim coach, Otto Addo, whose short-term contract expired in December after leading Ghana to the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

A GFA statement on Sunday said the decision to settle for the 64-year-old Irish-Ghanaian tactician follows the conclusion of extensive deliberations between the two parties, and also falls in line with the FA’s vision to build a formidable national team with almost the same technical handlers who guided the Black Stars to the World Cup in Qatar.

The FA also confirmed George Boateng and Mas-Ud Didi Dramani as assistant coaches, maintaining the roles they held since March alongside Hughton who was the Technical Advisor to the team.

However, details of Hughton’s contract were not disclosed.

His engagement was, probably, the worst-held secret as the former Tottenham Hotspur, Nottingham Forest and Brightton and Hove Albion coach was a leading candidate for the job before the FA settled on Otto Addo following the dismissal of Serbian Milovan Rajevac after Ghana’s abysmal performance at the Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroun last year.

His inclusion in Ghana’s technical team at the World Cup as the Technical Advisor was seen as a strategic move to ensure a smooth transition at the end of Otto Addo’s six-month contract.

Since the role became vacant, a number of foreign coaches have applied or expressed interest in the top job, with a former Black Stars coach, Kwasi Appiah, also expressing his availability to be considered for another comeback.

Hughton’s immediate task will be to prepare the Black Stars for their upcoming Africa Cup of Nations qualifying double header against Angola on March 20 and March 28.