Kofi Adams calls for Ghana to restore Colts pathway to Black Stars

Ghana’s Sports and Recreation Minister Kofi Adams has called for the restoration of a clear route from Colts football to the Black Stars, saying the country’s player development system no longer provides the structure it once did.

Adams made the appeal at the Ghana Football Association’s 32nd Ordinary Congress in Prampram. He said Ghana previously developed players through a recognisable sequence that included the Colts, the national youth teams, the Olympic side and, ultimately, the senior national team.

That pathway, he argued, helped Ghana develop groups of players over time rather than producing talents in isolation. The teams he referenced included the Starlets and the Satellites, Ghana’s youth national sides, before players moved towards Olympic and Black Stars football.

Adams questioned whether the current system can follow young players from the earliest age groups through their development. He said Ghana should be able to identify the leading under-13 players, monitor their progress into the under-15 and under-17 levels, and track their movement into Division One, the Premier League and the national teams.

He also raised the issue of players who leave the system before reaching higher levels. Without knowing which talents drop out and the reasons for their departure, Adams said, Ghana cannot properly assess or improve its development structure.

The minister said the country must move beyond isolated selection exercises and create a system for identifying, coaching and monitoring players. He linked that work to regular competition, exposure, sports science, player data and planned transitions between age groups and senior football.

Adams’ intervention places the movement from grassroots football to the Black Stars at the centre of Ghana’s wider football development debate. His proposal is for a connected system that can follow players over time and provide a clearer basis for preparing future national-team generations.