Former Black Stars right-back Samuel Inkoom has endorsed the Ghana Football Association’s (GFA) decision to expand the national team’s technical staff ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, describing the move as a positive step toward serious tournament preparation.
The GFA announced five appointments on February 6, 2026, bringing in French tactician Alain Ravera and Black Queens head coach Kim Lars Björkegren as assistant coaches, Spanish analyst Jose Daniel Martinez Alfonso, physiotherapist and psychologist Carlos Lozano Romero, and British-Ghanaian performance coach Dwayne Peasah Paa Kwesi to work alongside head coach Otto Addo.
Inkoom, who earned 49 caps for Ghana and featured at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, said the appointments reflected the technical complexity of competing at a 48-team World Cup and that Addo was right to seek specialist support in key performance areas.
The former Dnipro and FC Basel defender pointed specifically to the additions of a sports psychologist and a dedicated video analyst as areas that could give the Black Stars a meaningful edge, noting that modern international football is won as much in preparation rooms as on the pitch.
The appointments have not been without controversy. Sports and Recreation Minister Kofi Adams confirmed that none of the five new staff will receive monthly salaries, clarifying they will only benefit from allowances, per diems, and appearance fees during the World Cup campaign itself. The GFA’s Communications Director Henry Asante Twum noted that government had agreed to cover the remuneration of the additional technical members, marking a policy shift from previous practice where only the head coach’s salary was state-funded.
As part of their World Cup preparations, the Black Stars will regroup in March for international friendlies against Austria and Germany, with a further warm-up match against Mexico in May before the tournament begins. Ghana have been drawn in Group L alongside Panama, England, and Croatia, with their opening match against Panama scheduled for June 17. The squad will be based at Bryant University in the United States throughout the competition.
Ghana are appearing at their fifth World Cup and are aiming to surpass the quarter-final finish achieved at the 2010 tournament in South Africa, the country’s best performance in the competition.
