Ghana FA expands talent search with new diaspora scouting strategy

The Ghana Football Association (GFA) will formally roll out a new diaspora strategy aimed at identifying Ghanaian footballers abroad and expanding the talent pool available to the country’s national teams.

GFA president Kurt Edwin Simeon-Okraku announced the initiative during the association’s 32nd Ordinary Congress at the Ghanaman Soccer Centre of Excellence in Prampram on Thursday, August 20.

The strategy follows the GFA’s first talent identification programme in the United Kingdom, which the association says laid the foundation for a broader approach to scouting players with Ghanaian roots overseas.

In his address, Kurt Okraku said the success of the pilot project in the United Kingdom had encouraged the GFA to establish a more structured engagement with Ghanaian players developing their careers outside the country.

“Building on the success of our first Talent Identification Programme in the United Kingdom (UK), we will formally roll out the GFA Diaspora Strategy to strengthen relationships with Ghanaian players abroad, identify emerging talents and broaden the pool of players available to our national teams," he said.

The initiative is expected to improve the GFA’s ability to identify emerging talent, monitor players’ development and strengthen links between eligible footballers abroad and Ghana’s national team setup.

The diaspora strategy is designed to complement the GFA’s existing youth development programmes in Ghana by creating a more comprehensive talent identification framework.

The association believes a wider international scouting network will help uncover players across different football systems while strengthening the options available to Ghana’s various national teams.

The programme will work alongside the GFA’s domestic development initiatives, including its Power to the Youth policy, Elite Football Academies and grassroots competitions, as part of a long-term plan to build a stronger pipeline of talent for Ghanaian football.

 

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