We need to be deliberate – Didi Dramani on developing youth football in Ghana

Former Black Stars assistant coach Mas-Ud Didi Dramani says Ghana must be deliberate and consistent in its approach to youth football development if the country is to restore its fortunes at the junior level. Ghana have suffered a series of disappointments in youth football, with the national Under-17 and Under-20 teams struggling to make an impact at continental and global tournaments. The latest setback came when the Black Starlets failed to qualify for the U-17 Africa Cup of Nations after losing to Côte d’Ivoire in the semi-finals of the WAFU Zone B U-17 tournament. Speaking to JoySports, Dramani, who led Ghana’s U-20 women’s team to bronze at the 2012 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Japan, said a deliberate and sustainable approach was needed to rebuild the country’s youth football system. “When you want to bring a concept, it is a matter of being very deliberate and remaining very consistent, and you have to be sustainable. Development is all about talent identification, recruitment and also the ability to nurture,” he said. Dramani stressed that success would require more than words, insisting that the right structures and measures must be put in place to produce results. “Creating success is not just talking. You don’t start winning games without putting in the right measures. When you’re deliberate, you’ll train coaches so they manage clubs and schools. Football shouldn’t be a maybe sport; it should be a structured sport,” he added. His comments come amid growing concerns about the state of Ghana’s youth football.