Otto Addo to be engaged as next Black Stars coach
Otto Addo is to be engaged as the next coach of the Black Stars, the senior national football team of Ghana.
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He is to be offered a 34-month contract with an option for a further 24 months.
Otto Addo served as an interim coach and took the Black Stars to the World Cup in Qatar and returned to his German club, Borussia Dortmund after the World Cup in Qatar.
Chris Hughton took over from him but was relieved of his duties in January 2024 as head coach after a disappointing performance at the 2023 Afcon in Cote d'Ivoire.
Otto Addo: Hughton's predecessor, whom he served as a technical advisor to, had a slightly better win rate of 33.3 percent in his 12-game spell. Addo's record stood at 4 wins, 4 losses, and 4 draws.
Read also: Hughton's Black Stars tenure ends with lowest win rate among recent coaches
"Otto was exceptional in the interview process and was rated highly by the search committee, hence the decision," the President of the Ghana Football Association, Kurt Simeon-Okraku said.
He explained that Otto Addo's German club, Borussia Dortmund is expected to allow him to join Ghana for the March 2024 international window, after which he will travel back to the club to officially hand over and take up the Ghana job permanently in May 2024.
Search committee's recommendation
It was the search committee tasked by the Ghana Football Association (GFA) to look for a new coach for the senior national team that recommended that Otto Addo should be re-engaged as the next Black Stars coach.
The recommendation has subsequently been approved by the Executive Council of the Ghana Football Association.
"The Executive Council of the Ghana Football Association has approved the decision of the five-member Black Stars Head Coach search committee to name Otto Addo as the next coach of Ghana," a statement issued by the GFA on Friday [March 15, 2024] morning said.
This follows a long but decisive emergency meeting of the executive Council on Thursday, March 14, 2024.
The Council was presented with the report of the search committee led by Vice President Mark Addo for further deliberations.
Consequently, the Ghana Football Association has reached an agreement with Bundesliga giants Borussia Dortmund for Otto Addo to be released to take up the job.
Otto Addo will be offered a 34-month contract with an option for a further 24-months.
"Otto was exceptional in the interview process and was rated highly by the search committee, hence the decision," the President of the GFA, Simeon-Okraku said.
"There were some brilliant individuals among the coaches who applied for the job, so the committee took the pain to interview a chunk of them to pick their thoughts on their intentions to transform the team within a short period of time due to our peculiar situation"
"The Committee was overly satisfied with Otto's performance for which reason he was recommended to the Executive Council for approval," President Simeon-Okraku added.
Otto will be allowed by Borussia Dortmund to join Ghana for the March international window, after which he will travel back to the club to officially hand over and take up the job permanently in May this year.
