Dr Nyaho Nyaho-Tamakloe, a former chairman of the Ghana Football Association, has urged Otto Addo, the Head Coach of the Black Stars, to give preference to local players while rebuilding the national team. 
Dr Nyaho-Tamakloe believes that relying too much on foreign-based players has prevented the development of a robust and competitive team. He pointed to Sudan’s 2-0 win against Ghana in the AFCON qualifiers as proof that home-grown players have great potential.
Following Ghana’s disappointing AFCON qualifying campaign, the veteran administrator stressed in an interview that the national team must change its team-building approach to regain its competitive edge. 
“You cannot gather different footballers from Europe a week before a match, no matter how talented they are, and expect to win easily,” he remarked.
The poor performance of the Black Stars in the AFCON qualifiers, according to Dr. Nyaho-Tamakloe, who serves on the Hearts of Oak Board of Directors, was a direct result of the government’s disregard for football. He appealed to the government to allocate significant funds to support the national team in order to revive its past glory.
When reflecting on Ghana’s football history, he pointed out that administrations that backed the national team were rewarded. “During the era of Kwame Nkrumah, all our victories were achieved with local players,” he recalled, referencing the work of foreign coaches like Sweden’s Andreas Sjöberg and Hungary’s József Ember, as well as Ghanaian legend Chares Kumi Gyamfi, who continued their legacy. Dr Nyaho-Tamakloe attributed the Black Stars’ two AFCON titles under Ghana’s first President (Dr Nkrumah) to the late leader’s passion for football. However, after Dr. Nkrumah’s government was overthrown, the momentum waned as successive governments, including General Joseph Ankrah and Dr. Kofi Abrefa Busia, failed to prioritize sports. “When General Kuti Acheampong took charge as Head of State, he personally invested in football, even doubling as Sports Minister, which led to our 1978 AFCON title,” Nyaho-Tamakloe added.
He also credited Jerry John Rawlings’ leadership, recalling how, despite economic hardships, Rawlings demonstrated unwavering support for the Black Stars during their 1982 AFCON triumph. “In 1982, Ghana was so broke that it took Libyan President Muammar Gaddafi to send a military aircraft to transport the team to Libya for the tournament,” Nyaho-Tamakloe said. Despite the challenges, the Black Stars defeated Libya in the final, bringing home the country’s last AFCON trophy. Lamenting the current state of affairs, the former GFA boss criticized the lack of government commitment in recent times, which he said contributed to the national team’s long title drought. “Ghana is a football nation, but we are being pushed out,”
Dr Nyaho-Tamakloe cautioned, emphasizing the need for the government to prioritize the Black Stars to restore their competitiveness. He warned that the team’s performance was unlikely to improve without proper investment and leadership.