Ghana Football Association (GFA) President Kurt Okraku says he took over a sport in ruins in 2019 and has spent six years rebuilding it from the ground up, and he now carries that ambition to the continental stage after securing a position at the summit of African football governance.
Speaking on the Asaase Breakfast Show on Tuesday, February 17, 2026, Okraku reflected on inheriting what he described as a completely broken ecosystem following the 2018 dissolution of the GFA in the wake of investigative journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas’ Number 12 exposé. “The enormity of the task hit me on my first day,” he said. “We had to find the right people with passion and skill to execute our vision. COVID delayed some plans, but we persevered.”
Okraku recently added significant continental weight to his portfolio, being appointed Second Vice President of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and Chairman of the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) Anti-Discrimination and Racism Committee. Under his CAF role, he will oversee club competitions including the CAF Champions League, the CAF Confederation Cup, and the CAF Women’s Champions League, restoring Ghana to a level of African football influence it last held under former GFA President Kwesi Nyantakyi.
Domestically, Okraku cited the Ghana Premier League (GPL) as a key indicator of progress. All league matches are now televised, clubs received one million Ghana cedis each at the start of the current season, match officials’ earnings were raised by over 100 percent, and the league winner will take home two million Ghana cedis, with merit awards for the top 15 clubs totalling more than nine million cedis, figures Okraku described as unprecedented in the league’s history.
On women’s football, Okraku pointed to a 742,000 dollar investment in a Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA)-standard pitch in the Upper East Region, academies at Prempeh College and Achimota School, and full television coverage of the Women’s Premier League as evidence of structural commitment. “Today, 90 percent of the Black Wings players play abroad, and that is a testament to the investment we’ve made in women’s football,” he said.
Off the broadcast, Okraku has also activated the 2026 strategic agenda for the national Under-15 Girls team, convening the management committee on February 16 to begin nationwide talent identification ahead of international competitions later this year.
Despite the Black Stars exiting the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) at the group stage in both 2021 and 2023, and failing to qualify for the most recent edition, Okraku was direct about his remaining ambition. “I want to win the Africa Cup of Nations, and that is the fact,” he said. Ghana, four-time African champions, have not lifted the trophy since 1982 and have finished as runners-up three times in the intervening decades. The immediate focus is the 2026 FIFA World Cup to be co-hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico, where the Black Stars will compete.
