Chris Hughton meets Akufo-Addo as race for Black Stars coaching job continues

The 63-year-old arrived in the country last week and is one of the frontrunners to become Ghana’s next head coach.

The Black Stars are currently without a coach after Milovan Rajevac was dismissed following the team’s group-stage exit at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.

So far, Hughton and Borussia Dortmund’s trainer scout Otto Addo are the two names who are being considered for the vacant coaching role.

However, the Ghana Football Association (GFA) prefers Addo, while the government also favours Hughton.

According to a report by 3news, Hughton met with President Akufo-Addo at the Jubilee House on Tuesday, where he was “assured of becoming Ghana’s next coach.”

The report adds that the President “threw his weight behind” the former West Ham United and Newcastle United boss to rebuild the Black Stars.

Meanwhile, Hughton already has the backing of Ghana’s Majority Leader in Parliament, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu.

"Chris Hughton is a coach who knows how to build with average materials and that's Ghana's situation now,” the legislator told Accra-based Angel FM.

“Our materials are not good so we need Chris to weld. Otto Addo is just a second coach for Dortmund.”

It remains to be seen which coach will be appointed, with the Black Stars scheduled to take on Nigeria in a crucial 2022 World Cup play-off game in March.