Former Sports Minister Nii Lante Vanderpuye has rejected calls for the dismissal of Black Stars coach Otto Addo, describing his performance in the ongoing World Cup qualifiers as impressive.
Speaking to Citi News on Thursday, October 9, 2025, Mr. Vanderpuye argued that rather than sacking the coach, the Ghana Football Association should strengthen the technical team by bringing in experienced figures to guide Addo’s development.
“With the team he has, he is quite inexperienced and immature for them. I will not hide that. We need someone with vast experience to come in as a technical advisor to guide us as we go into the World Cup. But changing him is not something I will recommend at this time—it will be too expensive and also risky,” he said.
Mr. Vanderpuye further urged the Black Stars to avenge their two painful defeats to Comoros — one at the 2021 AFCON and another in the current World Cup qualifiers under former coach Chris Hughton.
“Against Comoros, we have qualified already. Even if we lose, Madagascar would need to win by eight goals to overtake us, which is practically impossible. But we should still win against Comoros because of the painful defeat we suffered in the past. We have to prove to them that we are Ghana,” he said.
Otto Addo is now close to becoming the first coach, local or foreign, to guide Ghana to two FIFA World Cups — after leading the team to Qatar 2022 and now closing in on qualification for the 2026 tournament in the USA, Canada, and Mexico.
We’ll show Comoros we’re the bigger football nation – Agyemang-Badu
