By Nicholas Osei-Wusu
The Ghana Football Association has urged Ghanaians, particularly the media, to see the senior males football team, the Black Stars, as not just a soccer team but a national identity and pride with an enormous global attraction.
Reporting about the team before and during this year’s World Cup must therefore be guided by the highest sense of nationalism, responsibility and professionalism in order not to damage the brand that will carry aloft the national flag.
The Communications Director of the GFA, Mr. Henry Asante Twum, gave the advice in Kumasi at a capacity building programme for the media.
“The Blacks aren’t just a football team, they’re a national identity. That means media coverage carries huge public mood, player morale and Ghana’s image globally. And we’ll look at how to cover them a strategically while staying ethical”, Mr. Twum advised.
The training programme focused on building the competencies of the media to devise strategic means of reporting on Ghana’s Black Stars before and during the team’s participation in the upcoming FIFA World Cup.
It looked at critical considerations and accuracy in reporting.
It was the first of such events outside of the national capital, and was initiated by the American Embassy in Ghana, in partnership with the GFA as part of the Embassy’s efforts at boosting public interest and excitement ahead of the global football fiesta starting on June 11, 2026.
The heavily attended training by sports presenters, producers, bloggers and news reporters, had the Communications Director of the GFA as the resource person.
Mr. Twum took the participants through practical reporting, radio and TV commentary preparations and delivery, production requirements, ethics, courting credible sources within the national team and management, upholding the emotions and human right of players while leveraging on the tournament to establish themselves as credible and reliable sources of sports information to build and grow their audience base.
The GFA Communications Director used his vast professional experience in international tournament as a coverage, as a journalist, to make a case why Ghanaian media practitioners must put the Black Stars and the national interest always ahead of their individual and organizational considerations.
The Acting Head of the United States Embassy in Accra, Matthew Asada, said the United States would be excited to host Ghana in their match against Croatia in that country, especially as USA is commemorating her independence in July this year.
“What we can say is that the United States is incredibly excited to be hosting what is the world’s largest men’s soccer ever. Three host countries, 48 teams, more than a hundred matches, 16 host cities. Our country, United States, is going all out to ensure this is a success”, he assured.
This year’s World Cup, being organized by FIFA, is historic because it will be the first time that as many as 48 national teams, from the previous 32, will be competing across 16 match venues in three countries in North America namely, the USA, Canada and Mexico.
Ghana will be making her 5th appearance at the tournament having made her debut in 2006 in Germany.
