Team Ghana’s 4×100 relay performance of 38.43 seconds in the 2023 African Games qualifies them for the Olympic Games this year. However, there are several technicalities and a long way to go.

That time, however, puts Ghana in 15th place in the world relay rankings, a very excellent position.

All of this may be null and invalid by the time the Olympics arrive, given this is merely the beginning of the Athletics outdoor season.

Ghana and Nigeria, along with the other African countries who competed in the event, are among the few nations in the world to have participated in a competitive relay race.

This implies that, as the outdoor season advances, the ranking may alter.

Other countries may come in with superior times and leapfrog Ghana to qualify.

Ghana’s relay time falls within a range that several other countries have run or might run before the qualification window closes later this year.

However, the Penn Relays later this month provide Ghana with the potential to improve on their performance in the African Games and remain in respectable positions on the rankings.

The Ghana Athletics Association has already won a berth at the Penn Relays, which begin on April 25.

Ghana will have to stay in the 38-second region since it will be extremely tough considering that there will be many other countries vying for a chance to have a strong position in the rankings.

Many other relay teams will be participating in their first outdoor event of the year. Joseph Paul Amoah, Benjamin Azamati, Edwin Gadayi, and Solomon Hammond’s experience at the African Games might benefit the team.

On May 4, however, the World Relay Championships will take place in the Bahamas. This tournament will be the primary qualification for the Olympic Games. The eight teams that make it to the final will qualify to run in Paris, regardless of their timings.

To ensure a spot in the Games, Ghana must first qualify for the final in the Bahamas. The Bahamas will be a sure bet to qualify. If Team Ghana does not go to the global Relays final, it will be decided based on global rankings and timings accumulated throughout the outdoor season. The top timings will then join the core eight who have qualified for the global relays in the Bahamas.

Ghana may have a terrific race time and is now ranked in the top 15 in the world, but this is not cause for jubilation. There is still a lot of work to be done before we can book a flight to Paris.

Ghana great Asamoah Gyan has revealed that he refused a coaching position with the national team.

Gyan, who holds a UEFA Licence B coaching qualification, said this during an interview with Asempa FM’s Ultimate Sports Show on Wednesday.

Gyan explained his choice, saying that while he was grateful for the opportunity, he thought the timing was not right to accept the position.

However, he would not rule out future coaching possibilities with the national team.

“The timing was wrong, but let us see what happens in the future,” Asamoah Gyan remarked during the interview, adding that everyone has a different strategy for dealing with such possibilities.

Asamoah Gyan, known for his prodigious goal-scoring ability, is Ghana’s all-time leading goal-scorer and holds the record for the most goals scored by an African player in the FIFA World Cup.

Throughout his remarkable playing career, he represented Ghana in the 2006, 2010, and 2014 FIFA World Cups in Germany, South Africa, and Brazil, respectively, demonstrating his brilliance on a worldwide scale.

Gyan played for a number of clubs throughout the world, including Liberty Professionals, Stade Rennes, Udinese, Sunderland, Al Ain, Shanghai SIPG, Kayerispior, North East United, and Legon Cities, before formally retiring from professional football in June 2023.

Kwesi Nyantakyi, former president of the Ghana Football Association (GFA), believes that Ghana’s football regulating body should be honest with the media in order to raise knowledge and support for the sport in the country.

The 55-year-old feels that the media plays an important role in promoting football and rallying support to bring the game to its full potential, particularly under challenging conditions.

In an interview with 3Sports on the relationship between the current Kurt Okraku administration and Ghana’s media, Nyantakyi argued that openness is the best method to improve the situation between the two entities and maintain the smooth running of football in the country.

“The media is a critical stakeholder in football, and we cannot function without it. These days, the media is more lively than it was when I was there, and you can’t hide. So it’s best to open up and really engage them so that they can assist you. Whether you like it or not, they have a function to play, and you must explicitly include them and assign that responsibility,” he stated.

Nonetheless, the GFA has demonstrated resistance to media pressure, citing the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations incident in Ivory Coast as a perfect example. Following the team’s elimination from the competition, confrontations broke out in the mixed zone between the media and the players.

Meanwhile, Nyantakyi has stated that he intends to compete for the NPP in the next by-election in the Ejisu constituency this year, with the goal of returning to administrative responsibilities as a member of Parliament.

His comments come amid a delicate dynamic between the media and the present GFA government. Recent tensions have escalated as a result of the Black Stars’ poor performance, causing the media to harshly attack the government and call for responsibility.