Age has affected most of our players – Dr Nyaho Nyaho-Tamakloe on Black Stars World Cup exit

Former Ghana Football Association president Dr Nyaho Nyaho-Tamakloe has blamed age cheating for the Black Stars’ early exit from the 2026 Fifa World Cup.

Ghana were knocked out in the Round of 32 after a 1-0 defeat by Colombia, with Jhon Arias scoring the only goal of the match.

Speaking to Graphic Sports, Dr Nyaho-Tamakloe said some players in the current squad no longer had the physical sharpness needed to compete at the highest level.

He argued that the long-standing practice of using inaccurate ages in football had harmed the development of the national team.

“Age has affected most of our players,” he said. “We must stop the football age thing and be sincere with ourselves because it is affecting us.”

The Hearts of Oak board member said players should be honest about their ages and make way when their time at international level has passed.

“Age must be taken seriously in our football,” he said. “When a player has reached the appropriate age, he must make way for younger ones to take over.”

Dr Nyaho-Tamakloe also raised concerns about Ghana’s wider football development system, saying it was not consistently producing teams capable of challenging the best sides in the world.

The Black Stars reached the World Cup knockout stages for the first time since 2010, but were unable to go beyond the Round of 32.

Ghana will now turn their attention to qualifying for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations.

Jamaldeen Wiayuka

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