Ghana Appoints Winfried Schafer as Technical Adviser to Revamp National Team

Ghana has appointed experienced coach Winfried Schafer as technical adviser to assist the national team, following their failure to qualify for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.

Ghana has appointed former Cameroon coach Winfried Schafer as a technical adviser to assist the national team after their disappointing failure to qualify for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations finals in Morocco. Schafer, 75, led Cameroon to the African title in 2002 and has also coached Jamaica and Thailand. His coaching credentials were established during his time at Karlsruhe in the Bundesliga.

Schafer will work alongside coach Otto Addo, who has been retained despite Ghana's poor performance in the Cup of Nations qualifiers. Ghana failed to win any of their six matches and finished bottom of Group F, behind Angola, Sudan, and Niger. The appointment of Schafer is part of a revamp of Ghana's technical team ahead of the resumption of World Cup qualification in March.

German Winfried Schafer named as Black Stars Technical Advisor and GFA Director of Football https://t.co/WS0jzEMWj7

— 🇬🇭 Black Stars (@GhanaBlackstars) January 28, 2025

According to a statement from the Ghana Football Association, Schafer's role will extend beyond providing technical guidance to the national team. “In his new role, Schafer will not only provide technical guidance but also oversee the development of football in Ghana as the Director of Football,” the statement read. Schafer's responsibilities will include developing and implementing long-term strategic plans for the association, providing technical guidance in line with Ghana's football philosophy, leading youth development, and ensuring consistent high performance by teams.

The GFA have announced that Black Stars have revamped the technical team with the appointments of:

• Winfried Anton Schafer as Technical Director
• Desmond Osei as Assistant Head Coach
• Gregory De Grauwe as Chief Video Analyst
• Kris Perquy as Team Psychologist pic.twitter.com/GQeGaYfeuR

— Owuraku Ampofo (@_owurakuampofo) January 28, 2025

The Ghana Football Association emphasized the value of Schafer's experience in his new role. “His experience coaching at both club and national team level will undoubtedly be valuable in this position,” the statement noted. Ghana's next matches are against Chad and Madagascar in World Cup qualifiers in March. They currently share top place in Group I, with only the group winner advancing to the 2026 finals in North America.