Kurt Okraku Explains Why Black Stars Technical Team Was Revamped Ahead of World Cup.
The Ghana Football Association (GFA) in consultation with key stakeholders bolstered the Black Stars technical setup in the early days of February, 2026.
Kurt Edwin Simon Okraku, the Second Vice President of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Executive Council, has explained to Ghanaians the need for an upgrade in the technical setup following the appointment of highly experienced professionals as the World Cup gathers momentum.
As the Black Stars prepare for the global extravaganza, several significant additions were made in early February with the goal of increasing the team’s competitiveness and creating a more balanced technical framework.
The additions include French tactician Alvain Ravera, who was named assistant coach; head coach of the Black Queens, Kim Lars Björkegren, who also joined as assistant coach; Spanish national José Daniel Martínez Alfonso, appointed to strengthen scouting; and Carlos Lozano Romero, who reinforced the medical team as team physiotherapist.
The GFA President, in an interview with Max TV’s Nana Darkwa Gyasi, elaborated on his optimism as the Black Stars prepare for the task ahead in the United States of America, Canada, and Mexico.
“I am very positive due to the fact that we would be very prepared for the commencement of the challenge on the 17th of June. I’m very positive that the Black Stars would give us a good show.”
Mr. Okraku also commented on the upgrade of the Black Stars’ technical department, describing it as a convention by the association to strengthen the team ahead of the Mundial.
“We’ve kept a very lean technical team, especially during the qualification periods of our international engagements and as has been the convention, once we make it to the main tournament, we always argument our technical team, this is not the very first time, it happened before my term at the office, during the tenure of President Nyantakyi is always been the case. So, when we qualified, we knew that there were certain areas that we needed to argument.”
