Augustine Ahinful: Ghana football standards low

A former Black Stars forward, Augustine Ahinful, has cast doubt on the widely held notion that Dreams FC's impressive performance in the CAF Confederation Cup Is a clear sign of improvement in the Ghanaian local league.

Dreams FC, making their debut appearance in the continental club competition, reached the semi-finals before being eliminated by Zamalek in a hard-fought encounter that ended 1-3 at the Baba Yara Stadium last Sunday.

The former Ankaragücü player, speaking exclusively to the Graphic Sports, offered a critical perspective, suggesting that attributing Dreams FC's continental success solely to the enhancement of football standards in the local scene oversimplified the challenges faced by Ghanaian clubs.

"Our football has gone down, and we all know but Dreams FC have done very well, and we commend them for what they've done. As to the impact on Ghana football there are a lot of factors that will come in to make sure that our football gets to where we expect it", he said.

Despite their noteworthy achievement on the continental stage, Ahinful raised pertinent questions about Dreams FC's struggles in the domestic league, casting doubt on the correlation between their continental performance and the overall quality of Ghanaian football.

Ahinful attributed part of the blame for the decline in the league's standard to management issues plaguing Ghanaian clubs. He highlighted concerns such as inadequate player remuneration, substandard travel arrangements and the poor condition of roads as contributory factors to the challenges faced by clubs in the local league.

While acknowledging Dreams FC's commendable feat, Ahinful who started his career with Ashgold, emphasised the importance of addressing the systemic issues to foster sustainable improvement in the local league.