The Ghana national football team represents Ghana in men's international football and has done so since the 1950s. The team consists of twenty players including the technical team.[4] The team is nicknamed the Black Stars after the Black Star of Africa in the flag of Ghana. It is governed by the Ghana Football Association(GFA) the governing body for football in Ghana and the oldest football association in Africa (founded in 1920). Prior to 1957, the team played as the Gold Coast. The team is a member of both FIFA and CAF.
Although the team qualified for the senior FIFA World Cup for the first time in 2006, they had qualified for four Olympic Games Football Tournaments when the tournament qualifiers was still a full senior national team competition for African teams; their best achievement was the third position at the 1992 Summer Olympics. The team has won the Africa Cup of Nations four times[5] (in 1963, 1965, 1978, and 1982) and has been runner-up five times (in 1968, 1970, 1992, 2010, and 2015). After going through 2005 unbeaten, the Ghana national football team won the FIFA Best Mover of the Year Award and reached the second round of the 2006 FIFA World Cup. At the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, they became only the third African team to reach the World Cup quarter-finals, and in 2014 they competed in their third consecutive World Cup.
History
20th century
Black Stars members in the 1960s pose with some of Ghana's successive international football trophies won.
The Gold Coast Football Association was founded in 1920, succeeded by the Ghana Football Association (GFA) in 1957, which affiliated to Confederation of African Football and FIFA the following year.
On 19 August 1962 at the Accra Sports Stadium, the Black Stars played Spanish giants Real Madrid, who were at the time Spanish champions, former European champions and intercontinental champions, and drew 3–3.[6]
Charles Kumi Gyamfi became coach in 1961, and the Black Stars won successive African Cup of Nations titles, in 1963 and 1965, and achieved their record win, 13–2 away to Kenya, shortly after the second of these. They also reached the final of the tournament in 1968 and 1970, losing 1–0 on each occasion, to DR Congo and Sudan respectively. Their domination of this tournament earned the Black Stars team the nicknames of "the Black Stars of West Africa" and "the Black Stars of Africa" in the 1960s.[7]
The team had no success in FIFA World Cup qualification during this era, and failed to qualify for three successive African Cup of Nations in the 1970s, but qualified for the Olympic Games football tournaments, becoming the first team from sub-Saharan Africa to qualify for the Games,[8] reaching the quarter-finals in 1964 and withdrawing after qualifying in 1976 and 1980, later winning the 1982 African cup of nations. After three failures to reach the tournament final, the 1992 African Cup of Nations saw the Black Stars finish second.
21st century: rise to prominence and decline
Prior to the year 2000, disharmony among the squad which eventually led to parliamentary and executive intervention to settle issues between two squad members, Abedi Pele and Anthony Yeboah in the late 1990s, may have played some part in the failure of the team to build on the successes of the national underage teams in the late 1990s, but a new generation of Black Stars players who went to the 2001 FIFA World Youth Championship final became the core of the team at the 2002 African Cup of Nations, and were undefeated for a year in 2005 and reached the finals of the 2006 FIFA World Cup, the first time the team had reached the global stage of the tournament. The Black Stars started by succumbing to a 2–0 defeat to eventual champions Italy, but wins over the Czech Republic (2–0) and the United States (2–1) saw them through to the second round, where they lost 3–0 to Brazil.[9]
Black Stars squad line-up prior to match
In 2008, Ghana reached a high ranking of 14 according to the FIFA World Rankings. Under head coach Milovan Rajevac, the Black Stars went on to secure a 100 percent record in their qualification campaign, winning the group and becoming the first African team to qualify for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. In the final tournament, the team competed in Group D with Germany, Serbia and Australia. Ghana reached the round of 16 where they played the United States, winning 2–1 in extra time to become the third African nation to reach the World Cup quarter-finals. The team then lost to Uruguay in a penalty shootout in the quarter-finals, having missed a penalty kick in extra time after what would have been the winning goal to send Ghana to the semi-finals was illegally prevented by Luis Suárez's deliberate handball, who was then shown a red card for his actions.[10]
In 2013 Ghana became the only team in Africa to reach four consecutive semi-finals of the CAF Africa Cup of Nations twice, from 1963 and 1970 and from 2008 and 2013.[11]
Ghana was sufficiently highly ranked by FIFA to start their qualifying for the 2014 World Cup in the Second round. They won the group, and in the following round qualified for the 2014 World Cup finals in November 2013, beating Egypt 7–3 on aggregate in a two-legged play-off.[12] Ghana was drawn in Group G for the finals, where they faced Germany, Portugal, and the United States.[13] The World Cup finals ended up in disappointment as Ghana exited in the group stages without winning a match, and with issues of poor planning and payment bonuses being blamed for the poor performance, (although they did manage a 2–2 draw with eventual champions Germany). Ghana was the only team to not lose to Germany in the tournament.
After the 2014 World Cup, Ghana slowly but steadily entered an era of decline. The final chapter of their heyday was written at the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, where the Black Stars handily reached the final once more, only to be denied the title on penalties against Ivory Coast. While their 2017 Africa Cup of Nations campaign ended in yet another fourth place finish - the third one in four consecutive editions of the tournament -, they failed to impress in the qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup, finishing behind Egypt and Uganda in their final group. At the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, the Black Stars once again couldn't reproduce their former prowess, as they were eliminated by Tunisia in the Round of 16. In 2021, Rajevac was brought back in hopes to reawaken Ghana's former glory, but the team ended up reaching a new low at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, where they failed to win a single match and lost 2–3 to debutants the Comoros after an André Ayew red card to finish bottom of their group and thus fail to progress beyond the group stage for the first time since 2006.
Despite the Africa Cup of Nations being a flop, Ghana drew 0-0 vs Nigeria and drew 1-1 in Nigeria to qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup on the away goals rule.[14]
The black star is present on the Flag of Ghana and national coat of arms in the centre of the national crest. Adopted following the independence of Ghana in 1957, the black star has always been included in its kits. The
Ghana national football team (Black Stars) badge and national anthem
Black Stars' kits were sponsored by Puma SE from 2005, with the deal ending in 2014.[15]
The Black Star kit is used instead of the original gold, green, and red coloured football kit based on the colors of the Ghana national flag. The Black Stars have used an all-white and partly black football kit which was worn from the years 1957 to 1989 and again from 2006 until December 2014.
Between 1990 and 2006 the Ghana national three team used the kit in the colours of the national flag of Ghana, with gold, green and red used extensively, as in the team's crest and also known as the Pan-African colours. The gold with green and red kit concept and design was also used in the sixties and seventies, and designed with gold and green vertical stripes and red shoulders. An all black second kit was introduced in 2008 and in 2015, Black Stars' gold-red-green coloured kit and all black coloured kit is to be reassigned to the position of 1st and 2nd kits following the induction of a brown with blue and gold coloured Black Stars 3rd kit in 2012.[16][17]
The Ghana national football team's football kit for the 2014 FIFA World Cup was ranked as the best kit of the tournament by BuzzFeed.[18]
Black Stars 2008 Africa Cup of Nations 1st and 2nd kits
Kit suppliers
Kit supplier
Period
Erima
1991–1992
Adidas
1992–2000
Kappa
2000–2005
Puma
2005–present
Grounds and training grounds
Kumasi Sports Stadium
Lizzy Sports Complex
There is no fixed home stadium for the Black Stars. World Cup and Africa Cup of Nations qualifying matches have been played at the Sekondi-Takoradi Stadium in Sekondi-Takoradi, the Len Clay Stadium, Kumasi Sports Stadium and Abrankese Stadium in Kumasi, the Cape Coast Sports Stadium in Cape Coast, the Accra Sports Stadium in the Accra and the Tamale Stadium in Tamale. Some smaller, regional stadia (stadiums) were also used in the 2002 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying and 2004 African Cup of Nations qualification qualifying campaigns.
83 percent of the Ghanaian people are Akan-speakers, and about 21 percent are English-speakers; match schedules of the Black Stars are broadcast both in English as in the case of inter-continental matches and in Akan nationally by Adom TV, PeaceFM, AdomFM and HappyFM. During the scheduled qualification for the 2014 World Cup national broadcaster GTV, a sub-division of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC), broadcast to the Ghanaian public home qualifiers with away qualifiers broadcast by the satellite television broadcasting corporation Viasat 1. The friendly match against Turkey in August 2013 was televised by Viasat 1 and the qualifiers for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations and the 2018 Inter-Continental Championships are scheduled for public broadcast by the corporations GFA TV, GBC and Viasat 1.[20]
Organization and finance
The Black Stars as it stands now has no official head because of corrupt practices by the then president, Kwesi Nyantakyi.[21] and vice-president George Afriyie,[22] with Frank Davis as director of football, and Edward Bawa as treasurer.[23] The Ghana Football Association (GFA) signed a CN¥92.2 million (US$15 million) deal with Ghanaian state-run oil and gas exploration corporation, Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), to sponsor the Black Stars and the renewable contract saw the oil and gas exploration corporation become the global headline sponsor of the Black Stars, with a yearly Black Stars player salary wage bill,[24][25] following the gold mining corporations Ashanti Goldfields Corporation and Goldfields Ghana Limited (GGL), which had been sponsoring the Black Stars since 2005.[26]
On 28 August 2013, Ghana Football Association (GFA) launched a TV channel and named GFA TV, thus becoming the first football association on the African continent to launch its own TV network. The channel has the exclusive rights to broadcast all the Black Stars' matches.[27] In November 2013, the Black Stars signed a 2013–2015 CN¥30.6 million (US$5 million) and an additional classified multi-million private bank sponsorship deal with the Ghanaian state-run private banking institution UniBank.[28]
Supporters
Ghana Supporters Union at an AFCON 2015 match between Ghana and Guinea
The Black Stars maintain an average stadium match attendance of 60,000+ and a match attendance high of 80,000+, such as in the case of the Black Stars' 2010 FIFA World Cup quarter-final against Uruguay in which was attended by 84,017 spectators.[29]
Ghana's match against England on 29 March 2011 had the largest away following for any association football national team since the re-opening of Wembley Stadium in 2007.[30] The match was watched by 700 million people around the world.[30]
Following the team's appearances at the 2006 and 2010 World Cup tournaments they were greeted by several hundred avid fans dancing and singing at Kotoka International Airport in Accra.[31]
Rivalries
Main article: Ghana–Nigeria football rivalry
The Black Stars' main footballing rivalry is with the Super Eagles, the national team of Nigeria. The "Battle of Supremacy on the Gulf of Guinea" is between two of the most successful teams on the African
Ghana vs. Nigeria in the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations Quarter-Final
continent.[32] The proximity of the two countries to each other, a dispute between the different association football competitions and wider diplomatic competition for influence across West Africa add to this rivalry.[32][33] The match between these two countries is commonly called the Jollof derby.[34]
In books and popular culture
Products including books, documentary films, Azonto dances and songs have been made in the name of the Ghana national football team. These may be intended with commercial motives but are focused on previous and future World Cups or Africa Cup of Nations tournaments.
Books: Several books have been published on the team's history and participation in major tournaments. These include Ghana, The Rediscovered Soccer Might: Watch Out World!,[35] about the history and performance of the Black Stars and also all the major association football national teams that the Black Stars have ever played against, and The Black Stars of Ghana by Alan Whelan;[36] about Black Stars commencing their progress through the final rounds of the 2010 World Cup and into the quarter-finals.
Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah
Documentary films: In 2010 Miracle Films Ghana Limited showcased a vintage documentary film picture, Kwame Nkrumah & Ghana's Black Stars, about Osagyefo Kwame Nkrumah "Africa's man of the 2nd millennium" and "Pan-African pioneer",[37] who invested a lot of energy into making Ghana's association football national team– the Black Stars– a force in African football.[38]
Nickname: The Black Star Line, a shipping industry line incorporated by the founder of the Back-to-Africa movement, civil rights movement leader Marcus Garvey and the organiser of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA) from 1919 to 1922, gives the Ghana national football team their nicknames, the Black Stars of West Africa and the Black Stars of Africa.[38]
Dances: Upon the Black Stars scoring against opposition teams, dance forms of the worldwide popular Ghanaian Azonto were performed by Black Stars players in their goal celebrations in match victories at the 2010 World Cup and in 2013, a new elite dance version of the Ghanaian Azonto named; "(Akan: Mmonko)" (shrimp), was established and showcased at the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations by the Black Stars players.[39] Black Stars goal celebrations in match victories at the 2014 World Cup and upon scoring against opposition teams, are to establish and showcase Alkayida.[40]
Songs: On occasions of past World Cups or African Championships, a number of Ghanaian musicians with music producers created hiplife football songs which were composed in the Akan language– the 2006 World Cup song, "Akan: Tuntum Nsorom Ye Ko Yen Anim", (Black Stars, We are moving forward) musical composed by the Musicians Union of Ghana, is to motivate the Black Stars to perform creditably in their quest for the capturing of the World Cup trophy.[41] Black Stars' captain and top-goalscorer Asamoah Gyan recorded and released a Hiplife song with 'Castro The Destroyer', where he features under the alias 'Baby Jet'. The song is entitled "African Girls" and is sung in the Akan language and was launched onto the Ghanaian screens, continental West Africa screens and onto the Sub-Saharan Africa screens. The music video shows the famous "Asamoah Gyan Dance" goal celebration which he demonstrated at the 2010 World Cup and in the Premier League. The song "African Girls" won an award at the Ghana Music Awards in 2011. The 2010 World Cup song, "Ghana Black Stars (Official Song 2010 World Cup)" composed by Ghanaian hiplife music group "Kings and Queens Entertainment" approved by the Ghana Football Association (GFA) as the GFA has indicated that the Black Stars are a protected brand.[42]
Results and fixtures
Main article: Ghana national football team results (2020–present)
The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.
Since 1957 Ghana has had 32 different head coaches and three caretakers. C. K. Gyamfi is the most successful of these, leading the Black Stars to three Africa Cup of Nations titles– in 1963, 1965 and 1982– making Gyamfi the joint most successful coach in the competition's history.[44] Fred Osam Duodu led the Black Stars to their 1978 Africa Cup of Nations title;[45]Ratomir Dujković, Milovan Rajevac, and James Kwesi Appiah, have all led the Black Stars to World Cup qualification.[46][47] Serbian managers have been the most successful foreign coaches in Ghana so far, with two managers all guided Ghana to the two first World Cup debuts.
Players
Current squad
The following players were selected for the 2022 World Cup qualification matches against Nigeria on 25 and 29 March 2022.[48]
Caps and goals updated as of 29 March 2022, after the game against Nigeria.
The football association of Ghana (GFA) administers several national teams at different levels, including one for the local national football team. The team is restricted to players who only play in the local league, thus the Ghana Premier League. The team is nicknamed the Local Black Stars.[49][50][51]
Youth teams
The football association of Ghana (GFA) administers several national teams at different age levels between 16 and 23 years of age.
The under-23 level (or Olympic team) from the 1992 Summer Olympics competes in Olympic football tournaments, Football at the All-Africa Games, CAF U-23 Championship and is restricted to using players aged 23 years and under.[52] The football at the Olympic Games is thus considered as an under-23 World Cup and since the Olympic Games of 1992; the under-23 level has participated in 5 Olympic Games, becoming the first African team to win an Olympic medal when they won bronze in 1992.[52]
The under-20 level is considered as the feeder level to the Black Stars senior squad and has competed at the FIFA U-20 World Cup since its inception in the 1970s. The under-20 level captured the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2009 after defeating Brazil 4–3 on penalties after the match finished 0–0 in extra time, and becoming the first on the Africa continent to do so. The under-20 level has been champions of the African Youth Championship four times: in 1995, 1999, 2009, and 2021 as well as twice runners-up in 2001 and 2013.
The under-17 level is the youngest level and players chosen may not be more than 17 years of age. The team represents Ghana in the FIFA U-17 World Cup. The under-17 team have twice been FIFA U-17 World Cup champions, in 1991 and 1995. Additionally they finished as runners up on two occasions, 1993 and 1997. The under-17 level has participated in eight of the 15 tournaments of the FIFA U-17 World Cup, debuting in Scotland 1989 FIFA U-16 World Championship and dominating the FIFA U-17 World Cup competition in the 1990s, where they reached four consecutive finals.[53] They also twice won the African U-17 Championship.
Black Stars at the 2006 World Cup and Black Stars vs. Uruguay in the 2010 FIFA World Cup quarter-final match at Soccer City, Johannesburg on 2 July 2010Czech Republic- Ghana line-up Group stage match, (First World Cup win) at 2006 World Cup in Germany
The Black Stars have qualified for three FIFA World Cup tournaments; 2006, 2010, and 2014. In 2006, Ghana was the only African side to advance to the second round of the World Cup in Germany, and was the sixth nation in a row from Africa to progress beyond the group stages of the World Cup.[63] The Black Stars had the youngest team in the 2006 edition with an average age of 23 years and 352 days,[63] and were praised for their improving performance.[64][65] FIFA ranked Ghana 13th out of the 32 countries who competed in the tournament.[66]
In the 2010 World Cup, Ghana progressed beyond the group stages of the World Cup in South Africa, and reached the quarter-finals where they were eliminated by Uruguay. The Black Stars were defeated on penalty shootout after Luis Suárez hand-balled on the goal line deep into extra time, preventing a certain winning goal.[67] Of the 32 countries that participated in the 2010 edition, FIFA ranked Ghana 7th.[68]
After beating Egypt 7–3 on aggregate in November 2013, Ghana qualified for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.[69] They were drawn in Group G with Germany, the United States and Portugal.[70] For the first time, Ghana fell in the group stage, tying Germany 2–2 and
losing to both the United States and Portugal by 2–1.[71]
Ghana - Uruguay Quarterfinal line-up at 2010 World Cup in South African
FIFA World Cup record
FIFA World Cup record
Pld
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
World Cup Finals
12
4
3
5
13
16
−3
World Cup Quals (H)
34
24
8
2
78
19
+59
World Cup Quals (A)
33
9
8
16
37
42
−5
World Cup Total
76
37
18
21
124
71
+53
FIFA World Cup record
Year
Round
Position
Pld
W
D
L
GF
GA
1930
Part of United Kingdom
1934
1938
1950
1954
1958
1962
Did not qualify
1966
Withdrew
1970
Did not qualify
1974
1978
1982
Withdrew
1986
Did not qualify
1990
1994
1998
2002
2006
Round of 16
13th
4
2
0
2
4
6
2010
Quarter-finals
7th
5
2
2
1
5
4
2014
Group stage
25th
3
0
1
2
4
6
2018
Did not qualify
2022
Qualified
2026
To be determined
Total
Quarter-finals
4/22
12
4
3
5
13
16
Black Stars at the CAF Africa Cup of Nations
Africa Cup of Nations record
Ghana has won the Africa Cup of Nations four times– in 1963, 1965, 1978, and 1982– bettered by Cameroon and Egypt. As the first winner of three Nations Cup tournaments, Ghana obtained the right to permanently hold the trophy in 1978.[72] The Black Stars have qualified for the tournament 23 times in total, finishing as runners-up five times, third once, and fourth four times. Thus, Ghana has the second-most final game appearances at the tournament behind Egypt (who has ten) with nine, essentially making the final in almost half of its appearances in the tournament. Ghana also holds the record of most consecutive semi-final appearances, with six straight between 2008 and 2017.
AFCON 2015 match between Ghana and Guinea
Africa Cup of Nations record
Africa Cup of Nations record
Pld
W
D*
L
GF
GA
GD
Africa Cup of Nations Finals
102
54
21
27
133
87
+46
Africa Cup of Nations record
Year
Round
Position
Pld
W
D*
L
GF
GA
1957
Part of United Kingdom
1959
Not affiliated to CAF
1962
Did not qualify
1963
Champions
1st
3
2
1
0
6
1
1965
Champions
1st
3
3
0
0
12
5
1968
Second place
2nd
5
3
1
1
11
8
1970
Second place
2nd
5
2
2
1
6
4
1972
Did not qualify
1974
1976
1978
Champions
1st
5
4
1
0
9
2
1980
Group stage
5th
3
1
1
1
1
1
1982
Champions
1st
5
2
3
0
7
5
1984
Group stage
6th
3
1
0
2
2
4
1986
Did not qualify
1988
1990
1992
Runners-up
2nd
5
4
1
0
6
2
1994
Quarter-finals
5th
3
2
0
1
3
2
1996
Fourth place
4th
6
4
0
2
7
5
1998
Group stage
11th
3
1
0
2
3
3
2000
Quarter-finals
8th
4
1
1
2
3
4
2002
Quarter-finals
7th
4
1
2
1
2
2
2004
Did not qualify
2006
Group stage
10th
3
1
0
2
2
3
2008
Third place
3rd
6
5
0
1
11
5
2010
Runners-up
2nd
5
3
0
2
4
4
2012
Fourth place
4th
6
3
1
2
6
5
2013
Fourth place
4th
6
3
2
1
10
6
2015
Runners-up
2nd
6
4
1
1
10
3
2017
Fourth place
4th
6
3
0
3
4
5
2019
Round of 16
12th
4
1
3
0
5
3
2021
Group stage
19th
3
0
1
2
3
5
2023
To be determined
2025
Total
4 Titles
23/33
102
54
21
27
133
87
*Denotes place was determined via penalty shoot-out.
**Gold background colour indicates that the team won the tournament.
***Red border color indicates the team was a host nation.
African Nations Championship record
Ghana has competed in three African Nations Championship tournaments, twice finishing as runners-up.
Year
Round
Position
Pld
W
D
L
GF
GA
2009
Runners-up
2nd
5
1
3
1
7
6
2011
Group stage
14th
3
0
0
3
1
4
2014
Runners-up
2nd
6
3
3
0
4
1
2016
Did not qualify
2018
2020
2022
To be determined
Total
Runners-up
3/6
14
4
6
4
12
11
African Games record
Football at the African Games has been an under-23 tournament since 1991.
a.Note: The Gold Coast national football team established in 1950; country known as Gold Coast then renamed Ghana in 1957, not competing in international competitions and not being part of neither FIFA nor CAF until 1958, and therefore also recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
n.Note: Football at the Summer Olympics has been an under-23 tournament since 1992.
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Gold Coast and 
British Togoland 1–0 Nigeria 
Nyasaland 0–12 Gold Coast 
Nyasaland 0–12 Ghana 
[2]
Bulgaria 10–0 Ghana 
Erima
Kappa
Ivory Coast 
Ethiopia 
35'
Zimbabwe 
Comoros 
Nigeria 
Madagascar 
Uruguay 
St. Gallen
Swindon Town
Eupen
Ashdod
Celta de Vigo
Bordeaux
Columbus Crew
Ajax
Sheriff Tiraspol
Shenzhen
Al Ittihad Alexandria
Al-Sadd
Al-Fayha
Yeni Malatyaspor
Orenburg
1934
1938
1950
1958
1962
1970
1978
1957
1959
1962
1965
1972
1974
1976
1982
1992
1998
2002
2004
2010
2012
2021
2025
2011
2016
1965
1987
Athens 1896
Berlin 1936
Helsinki 1952
Melbourne 1956
Moscow 1980
