Former Chelsea manager, Avram Grant, has been confirmed as the new head coach of Ghana’s senior national team, the Black Stars.
The appointment was confirmed at a press conference by the Ghana Football Association (GFA) on Thursday by the association’s president, Kwesi Nyantakyi.
The GFA had already announced that Grant would be given the job, subject to the agreement of personal terms.
However, Nyantakyi told journalists that “all outstanding issues with Mr Grant have been cleared and we believe he is the right man for the job.”
The Israeli will officially take over the position on December 1 and has signed a 27- month contract with the GFA which ends on February 28 2017.
[contextly_sidebar id=”9gNyAZs2niGR7KEHyvOanKckxmoRth06″]The GFA president added that Grant had been set a target of winning the 2017 AFCON but has said it would be unrealistic for the Black Stars to with the 2015 AFCON in Equatorial Guinea.
“Grant needs time to know the players very well so we can’t ask him to win the nations cup. That will be unrealistic,” he said.
The GFA, however, expects the 59-year-old to lead the Black Stars to victory in the subsequent edition of the tournament in Libya.
Kwesi Nyantakyi said at a press conference earlier in November that Grant wanted to “understudy” current setup before assuming a full-time role, which meant that caretaker boss, Maxwell Konadu took charge of Ghana’s 2015 AFCON qualifier loss to Uganda in Kampala and the 3-1 win over Togo in Tamale.
The job had been vacant since former boss Kwesi Appiah was sacked in September after leading the Black Stars to fourth place at the 2013 AFCON and a first round exit at the World Cup in Brazil.
OFFICIAL: Avram Grant’s target is “to do well at 2015 Afcon and win 2017 Nations Cup.” – Ghana FA boss.
— Gary Al-Smith (@garyalsmith) November 27, 2014
Grant was Technical Director of then English Premier League club Portsmouth in 2006 joining Chelsea in July 2007 as Director of Football. September 2007.
Following the departure of manager José Mourinho by mutual consent later that year, Grant was appointed as Chelsea boss but was sacked at the end of the season despite leading the club to second place in the Premier League and their first Champions League final.
He has since had spells as manager of West Ham United and Partizan Belgrade, where he resigned after winning the Serbian League with the club in 2012.
See Citi Sports’ Gary Al-Smith’s take on Grant’s appointment as Ghana coach:
By: Edwin Kwakofi/citifmonline.com/Ghana