Ghana national football team facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

This page is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Ghana women's national football team.

Quick facts for kids
Ghana

Nickname(s)

Black Stars

Association

Ghana Football Association

Confederation

CAF (Africa)

Sub-confederation

WAFU (West Africa)

Head coach

Otto Addo

Captain

André Ayew

Most caps

André Ayew (120)

Top scorer

Asamoah Gyan (51)

Home stadium

Various

FIFA code

GHA

First colours

Second colours

FIFA ranking

Current

1 (7 February 2019)

Highest

14 (April–May 2007, February 2008)

Lowest

89 (June 2004)

Elo ranking

Current

4 (3 March 2019)

Highest

13 (30 June 1966)

Lowest

97 (14 June 2004)

First international

Gold Coast and

British Togoland 1–0 Nigeria

(Accra, British Gold Coast; 28 May 1950)

Biggest win

Nyasaland 0–12 Gold Coast

(Nyasaland; 15 October 1962)

Biggest defeat

Brazil 8–2 Ghana

(São José do Rio Preto, Brazil; 27 March 1996)

World Cup

Appearances

4 (first in 2006)

Best result

Quarter-finals (2010)

Africa Cup of Nations

Appearances

24 (first in 1963)

Best result

Champions (1963, 1965, 1978, 1982)

West African Nations Cup / WAFU Nations Cup

Appearances

8 (first in 1982)

Best result

Champions (1982, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1987, 2013)

COSAFA Cup

Appearances

1 (first in 2015)

Best result

Quarter-finals (2015)

The Ghana national football team represents the country of Ghana in men's international football matches. The team is known as the Black Stars. This name comes from the Black Star of Africa symbol found on the flag of Ghana. The team is managed by the Ghana Football Association, which is the main group for football in Ghana. Before 1957, the team played as the Gold Coast.

Ghana first played in the FIFA World Cup in 2006. The Black Stars have won the Africa Cup of Nations four times. These wins were in 1963, 1965, 1978, and 1982. They have also been runners-up five times. They have played in the CHAN four times, finishing second twice.

The official home jersey color for the Black Stars is white. Their away jersey color is yellow. These new colors were shown by PUMA, the official kit maker, in November 2024.

Team History and Achievements

On August 19, 1962, the Black Stars played against Real Madrid at the Accra Sports Stadium. Real Madrid was a top Spanish and European team at the time. The match ended in a 3–3 draw.

Charles Kumi Gyamfi became the coach in 1961. Under him, Ghana won two African Cup of Nations titles in a row, in 1963 and 1965. After these wins, the Black Stars had their biggest victory ever, beating Kenya 13–2 away from home. They reached the final of the tournament in 1968 and 1970. They lost both finals 1–0. Their strong performance in the 1960s earned them the nickname "the Black Stars of Africa."

The team's luck changed in the 1970s when they failed to qualify for three African Cup of Nations tournaments. But in the early 1980s, with new stars like Abedi Pele, they won their fourth African title. They beat Libya in the 1982 African Cup of Nations final. After this, they were knocked out early in 1984 and did not qualify for the next three tournaments. In 1992, they reached the final again but lost to Ivory Coast in a penalty shootout. The score was 11-10 after a 0-0 draw. Ghana was missing their best player, Abedi Pele, who was suspended for the final.

In the 1990s, some disagreements among players like Abedi Pele and Tony Yeboah affected the team. However, a new group of players from the 2001 FIFA World Youth Championship became the core of the team. They went a year without losing in 2005 and qualified for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. In the 2006 World Cup, Ghana lost 2–0 to Italy. But they won against Czech Republic (2–0) and United States (2–1). This helped them move to the second round, where they lost 3–0 to Brazil.

Under coach Milovan Rajevac, the Black Stars won all their games in the qualification campaign. They were the first African team to qualify for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. In the tournament, they were in Group D with Germany, Serbia, and Australia. They made it to the round of 16 and beat the United States 2–1 in extra time. This made them only the third African nation to reach the World Cup quarter-finals. They then lost to Uruguay in a penalty shootout. This happened after Uruguayan player Luis Suárez blocked a header with his hand near the goal in extra time. Asamoah Gyan missed the penalty kick given for the handball, and Ghana lost the shootout 4-2. They did not make it to the semi-finals, which would have been a first for an African country.

In 2013, Ghana became the only African team to reach the semi-finals of the CAF Africa Cup of Nations four times in a row, a feat they had also achieved between 1963 and 1970.

Ghana qualified for the 2014 World Cup by beating Egypt 7–3 over two games in November 2013. They were in Group G with Germany, Portugal, and the United States. They were eliminated in the group stage with one draw and two losses. However, they were the only team not to lose to Germany in the tournament, drawing 2-2 with the eventual winners.

In the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, they reached the final but lost to Ivory Coast on penalties. Their 2017 Africa Cup of Nations campaign ended in fourth place. In the qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup, they finished behind Egypt and Uganda. At the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, they were knocked out by Tunisia in the Round of 16. In 2021, the Black Stars failed to win a match at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations. They lost 3–2 to the Comoros and finished last in their group. This was the first time since 2006 they did not get past the group stage. They qualified for the 2022 FIFA World Cup by drawing 0–0 with Nigeria at home and 1–1 away, winning on away goals. At the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Ghana lost their first match to Portugal (3–2). They won their second match against South Korea 3–2. In a crucial match against Uruguay, Ghana lost 2–0 and finished last in their group. However, South Korea's win over Portugal meant Uruguay was also knocked out.

Ghana surprisingly failed to qualify for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations. They finished last in their group behind Angola, Sudan, and Niger. This is the first time since 2004 that the Black Stars will miss the AFCON tournament.

Team Culture

Kits and Crest

Home shirt: 1970s–1980s

The black star symbol was adopted after Ghana became independent in 1957. It has been on the Black Stars' kits ever since. Puma SE sponsored the kits from 2005 to 2014.

Badge and anthem

From 1990 to 2006, the Ghana national team used kits with the colors of the national flag: gold, green, and red. These are also known as the Pan-African colours. The gold, green, and red kit design was also used in the 1960s and 1970s. It featured gold and green vertical stripes with red shoulders. An all-black away kit was introduced in 2008. In 2015, the gold-red-green kit became the first kit, and the all-black kit became the second. A brown, blue, and gold third kit was added in 2012.

BuzzFeed rated the team's kit for the 2014 FIFA World Cup as the best kit of the tournament.


2008 Africa Cup of Nations 1st and 2nd kits

Kit supplier	Period
Erima	1991–1992
Adidas	1992–2000
Kappa	2000–2005
Puma	2005–

Grounds

Kumasi Sports Stadium

Lizzy Sports Complex

The Black Stars train at various facilities. These include Agyeman Badu Stadium, Berekum Sports Stadium in Brong-Ahafo, the Tema Sports Stadium in Tema, and the Lizzy Sports Complex in Legon.

Team Organization

The Ghana Football Association (GFA) manages the Black Stars. The GFA signed a deal with the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) to sponsor the team. This deal made GNPC the main sponsor of the Black Stars. Before this, gold mining companies like Ashanti Goldfields Corporation also sponsored the team.

On August 28, 2013, the GFA launched its own TV channel called GFA TV. This channel has the rights to show all the Black Stars' matches. In November 2013, the Black Stars also signed a sponsorship deal with the Ghanaian bank UniBank.

Supporters

Ghana Supporters Union at an AFCON 2015 match between Ghana and Guinea

The Black Stars have many fans. Their stadium matches often have over 60,000 people attending. Sometimes, as many as 80,000 fans come to watch. For example, 84,017 spectators watched their 2010 FIFA World Cup quarter-final against Uruguay. A match against England in 2011 had the largest away fan group at Wembley Stadium since it reopened. About 700 million people watched this match around the world.

After the team played in the 2006 and 2010 World Cup, hundreds of excited fans welcomed them at Kotoka International Airport in Accra.

Rivalries

Vs. Nigeria in the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations Quarter-Final

The Black Stars have a big rivalry with the Super Eagles, which is the Nigeria national team. This match is called the "Battle of Supremacy on the Gulf of Guinea". It's between two of Africa's most successful teams. The close location of the two countries and their competition in football and other areas make this rivalry strong. The match between these two countries is known as the Jollof derby.

Other rivalries include matches against Egypt, USA, and Uruguay.

Media and Arts

Black Stars matches are shown on TV and radio in English and Akan. For example, GTV and Viasat 1 have broadcast their games.

Many products like books, films, and songs have been made about the team. These often focus on past or future World Cups or Africa Cup of Nations tournaments.

Books: Books like Ghana, The Rediscovered Soccer Might: Watch Out World! tell the team's history. The Black Stars of Ghana by Alan Whelan is about their journey in the 2010 World Cup.
Documentary films: In 2010, Miracle Films Ghana Limited showed a film called Kwame Nkrumah & Ghana's Black Stars. It was about Kwame Nkrumah and how he helped make the Black Stars a strong team in African football.
Nickname: The team's nickname, the Black Stars, comes from the Black Star Line. This was a shipping company started by civil rights movement leader Marcus Garvey.
Dances: When the Black Stars score a goal, players sometimes do Ghanaian Azonto dances as part of their goal celebrations. At the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, they showed a special Azonto dance called "(Akan: Mmonko)" (shrimp). For the 2014 World Cup, they planned to use Alkayida dances for celebrations.
Songs: Musicians have created hiplife football songs for the team. The 2006 World Cup song, "Akan: Tuntum Nsorom Ye Ko Yen Anim" (Black Stars, We are moving forward), was made to encourage the team. Black Stars' captain and top scorer Asamoah Gyan even recorded a hiplife song called "African Girls" with 'Castro The Destroyer'. The music video shows his "Asamoah Gyan Dance" goal celebration from the 2010 World Cup. This song won an award in 2011.

Coaches

Position	Name
Head coach	Otto Addo
Assistant coach	Joseph Laumann
Assistant coach	John Paintsil
Goalkeeping coach	Fatau Dauda

Coach History

Mali vs Ghana, exhibition game at Paris, 31 March 2015

Since 1957, the Black Stars have had 32 different head coaches. C. K. Gyamfi led the team to win three Africa Cup of Nations titles. These were in 1963, 1965, and 1982. This makes Gyamfi one of the most successful coaches in the tournament's history. Fred Osam Duodu helped the Black Stars win the 1978 Africa Cup of Nations. Coaches like Ratomir Dujković, Milovan Rajevac, and James Kwesi Appiah led the team to qualify for the World Cup. Two Serbian managers guided Ghana to their first two World Cup appearances. Otto Addo became the head coach of the Black Stars on March 15, 2024.

Players

Current Squad

The players listed below were chosen for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification matches in November 2024.

Caps (games played) and goals are correct as of November 18, 2024, after the match against Angola.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1GK	Lawrence Ati-Zigi	(1996-11-29) 29 November 1996 (age 28)	27	0	St. Gallen
1GK	Jojo Wollacott	(1996-09-08) 8 September 1996 (age 28)	12	0	Hibernian
1GK	Abdul Manaf Nurudeen	(1999-02-08) 8 February 1999 (age 26)	5	0	Eupen

2DF	Alexander Djiku	(1994-08-09) 9 August 1994 (age 30)	31	2	Fenerbahçe
2DF	Gideon Mensah	(1998-07-18) 18 July 1998 (age 27)	29	0	Auxerre
2DF	Alidu Seidu	(2000-06-04) 4 June 2000 (age 25)	20	1	Rennes
2DF	Tariq Lamptey	(2000-09-30) 30 September 2000 (age 24)	11	0	Brighton & Hove Albion
2DF	Jerome Opoku	(1998-10-14) 14 October 1998 (age 26)	3	1	İstanbul Başakşehir
2DF	Jonas Adjetey	(2003-12-13) 13 December 2003 (age 21)	1	0	Basel
2DF	Razak Simpson	(1998-07-15) 15 July 1998 (age 27)	1	0	Nations
2DF	Nathaniel Adjei	(2002-08-21) 21 August 2002 (age 22)	0	0	Lorient
2DF	Isaac Afful	(1999-04-01) 1 April 1999 (age 26)	0	0	Samartex

3MF	Mohammed Kudus	(2000-08-02) 2 August 2000 (age 24)	39	11	West Ham United
3MF	Elisha Owusu	(1997-11-07) 7 November 1997 (age 27)	15	0	Auxerre
3MF	Ibrahim Sulemana	(2003-05-22) 22 May 2003 (age 22)	4	0	Atalanta
3MF	Michael Baidoo	(1999-05-14) 14 May 1999 (age 26)	3	0	Elfsborg
3MF	Abu Francis	(2001-04-27) 27 April 2001 (age 24)	1	0	Cercle Brugge
3MF	Emmanuel Antwi	(2000-01-08) 8 January 2000 (age 25)	0	0	Great Olympics

4FW	Jordan Ayew	(1991-09-11) 11 September 1991 (age 33)	109	29	Leicester City
4FW	Antoine Semenyo	(2000-01-07) 7 January 2000 (age 25)	25	2	Bournemouth
4FW	Abdul Fatawu	(2004-03-08) 8 March 2004 (age 21)	24	2	Leicester City
4FW	Iñaki Williams	(1994-06-15) 15 June 1994 (age 31)	21	1	Athletic Bilbao
4FW	Joseph Paintsil	(1998-02-01) 1 February 1998 (age 27)	16	0	LA Galaxy
4FW	Ernest Nuamah	(2003-11-01) 1 November 2003 (age 21)	15	3	Lyon
4FW	Ibrahim Osman	(2004-11-29) 29 November 2004 (age 20)	2	0	Feyenoord

Local Team Players

The Ghana Football Association also manages a national team for players who only play in the local league, the Ghana Premier League. This team is called the Local Black Stars.

Team Records

Players in bold are still active with Ghana.

Most Games Played

André Ayew is Ghana's most capped player with 120 appearances.

Rank	Player	Caps	Goals	Career
1	André Ayew	120	24	2007–present
2	Asamoah Gyan	109	51	2003–2019
3	Jordan Ayew	108	28	2010–present
4	Richard Kingson	93	1	1996–2011
5	John Paintsil	91	0	2001–2013
6	Harrison Afful	86	0	2008–2018
7	Sulley Muntari	84	20	2002–2014
8	John Mensah	81	3	2001–2012
9	Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu	78	11	2008–2017
10	Kwadwo Asamoah	74	4	2008–2019

Top Goal Scorers

Asamoah Gyan is Ghana's top goalscorer with 51 goals.

Rank	Player	Goals	Caps	Ratio	Career
1	Asamoah Gyan	51	109	0.47	2003–2019
2	Edward Acquah	45	41	1.1	1956–1964
3	Kwasi Owusu	36	45	0.8	1968–1976
4	Tony Yeboah	29	59	0.49	1985–1997
5	Jordan Ayew	28	108	0.26	2010–present
6	Karim Abdul Razak	25	62	0.4	1975–1988
7	André Ayew	24	120	0.2	2007–present
8	Wilberforce Mfum	20	26	0.77	1960–1968
8	Sulley Muntari	20	84	0.24	2002–2014
10	Osei Kofi	19	25	0.76	1964–1973
10	Abedi Pele	19	73	0.26	1982–1998

Team Captains

Awuley Quaye (1978)
Kuuku Dadzie (1980–1982)
Emmanuel Quarshie (1982–1984)
Isaac Paha (1984)
James Kwesi Appiah (1984–1992)
Abedi Pele (1992–1998)
Charles Akonnor (1999–2001)
Stephen Appiah (2002–2010)
John Mensah (2010–2012)
Asamoah Gyan (2012–2019)
André Ayew (2019–)

Competitive Performance

FIFA World Cup

At the 2006 World Cup and vs. Uruguay in the 2010 FIFA World Cup quarter-final match at Soccer City, Johannesburg on 2 July 2010

Ghana has played in the FIFA World Cup four times: in 2006, 2010, 2014, and 2022. In 2006, they were the only African team to reach the second round. They were also the sixth African nation in a row to get past the group stage. Ghana had the youngest team in the 2006 tournament. FIFA ranked them 13th out of 32 countries.

In the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, Ghana made it past the group stages. They reached the quarter-finals but were knocked out by Uruguay. They lost in a penalty shootout. This happened after Luis Suárez used his hand to block a goal-bound shot in extra time. FIFA ranked Ghana 7th out of 32 countries in 2010.

After beating Egypt in November 2013, Ghana qualified for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. They were in Group G with Germany, United States, and Portugal. For the first time, they did not get past the group stage. They drew 2–2 with Germany and lost 2–1 to both the United States and Portugal.

Round	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
World Cup Finals	15	5	3	7	18	23	−5
World Cup Quals (H)	34	24	8	2	78	19	+59
World Cup Quals (A)	33	9	8	16	37	42	−5

Total	82	38	19	25	133	84	+49

FIFA World Cup record										Qualification record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Squad	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Campaign
1930 to 1954	Part of United Kingdom									Part of United Kingdom
1958	Not a FIFA member									Not a FIFA member
1962	Did not qualify									2	1	1	0	2	0	1962
1966	Withdrew									Withdrew
1970	Withdrew									Withdrew
1974	Did not qualify									6	3	1	1	14	5	1974
1978	Did not qualify									3	1	0	2	3	5	1978
1982	Withdrew									Withdrew
1986	Withdrew									Withdrew
1990	Did not qualify									2	0	1	1	0	2	1990
1994										4	2	0	2	4	3	1994
1998										8	2	4	2	9	8	1998
2002										12	4	3	4	10	11	2002
2006	Round of 16	13th	4	2	0	2	4	6	Squad	12	8	3	1	24	4	2006
2010	Quarter-finals	7th	5	2	2	1	5	4	Squad	12	8	1	3	20	8	2010
2014	Group stage	25th	3	0	1	2	4	6	Squad	8	6	0	2	25	6	2014
2018	Did not qualify									8	2	5	1	9	5	2018
2022	Group stage	24th	3	1	0	2	5	7	Squad	8	4	3	1	8	4	2022
2026	Qualification in progress									4	3	0	1	7	5	2026
2030	To be determined									To be determined						2030
2034	To be determined									To be determined						2034

Total	Quarter-finals	4/16	15	5	3	7	18	23	–	89	44	22	21	135	66

Africa Cup of Nations

At the 2015 AFCON vs. Guinea in the quarter-finals.

The Black Stars of Ghana have won the Africa Cup of Nations four times. They won in 1963, 1965, 1978, and 1982. Only Cameroon and Egypt have won more titles. As the first team to win three AFCON tournaments, Ghana was allowed to keep the trophy permanently in 1978.

In November 2024, Ghana failed to qualify for AFCON 2025. This is the first time they have missed the tournament since 2004.

Africa Cup of Nations record										Qualification record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA	Squad	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA	Campaign
1957	Not affiliated to CAF									Not affiliated to CAF
1959	Not affiliated to CAF									Not affiliated to CAF
1962	Did not qualify									2	0	2	0	2	2	1962
1963	Champions	1st	3	2	1	0	6	1	Squad	Qualified as hosts
1965	Champions	1st	3	3	0	0	12	5	Squad	Qualified as defending champions
1968	Runners-up	2nd	5	3	1	1	11	8	Squad	Qualified as defending champions
1970	Runners-up	2nd	5	2	2	1	6	4	Squad	2	2	0	0	15	1	1970
1972	Did not qualify									2	0	1	1	0	1	1972
1974										4	1	0	3	3	7	1974
1976										4	2	0	2	7	5	1976
1978	Champions	1st	5	4	1	0	9	2	Squad	Qualified as hosts
1980	Group stage	5th	3	1	1	1	1	1	Squad	Qualified as defending champions
1982	Champions	1st	5	2	3	0	7	5	Squad	4	2	2	0	6	4	1982
1984	Group stage	6th	3	1	0	2	2	4	Squad	Qualified as defending champions
1986	Did not qualify									4	1	2	1	5	4	1986
1988										2	0	1	1	1	2	1988
1990										2	1	0	1	1	1	1990
1992	Runners-up	2nd	5	4	1	0	6	2	Squad	8	5	2	1	11	2	1992
1994	Quarter-finals	5th	3	2	0	1	3	2	Squad	2	2	0	0	3	0	1994
1996	Fourth place	4th	6	4	0	2	7	5	Squad	4	3	0	1	9	3	1996
1998	Group stage	11th	3	1	0	2	3	3	Squad	4	2	1	1	4	3	1998
2000	Quarter-finals	8th	4	1	1	2	3	4	Squad	Qualified as hosts
2002	Quarter-finals	7th	4	1	2	1	2	2	Squad	6	4	1	1	16	8	2002
2004	Did not qualify									4	1	1	2	5	5	2004
2006	Group stage	10th	3	1	0	2	2	3	Squad	10	6	3	1	17	4	2006
2008	Third place	3rd	6	5	0	1	11	5	Squad	Qualified as hosts
2010	Runners-up	2nd	5	3	0	2	4	4	Squad	12	8	1	3	20	8	2010
2012	Fourth place	4th	6	3	1	2	6	5	Squad	6	5	1	0	13	1	2012
2013	Fourth place	4th	6	3	2	1	10	6	Squad	2	2	0	0	3	0	2013
2015	Runners-up	2nd	6	4	1	1	10	3	Squad	6	3	2	1	11	7	2015
2017	Fourth place	4th	6	3	0	3	4	5	Squad	6	4	2	0	14	3	2017
2019	Round of 16	12th	4	1	3	0	5	3	Squad	4	3	0	1	8	1	2019
2021	Group stage	19th	3	0	1	2	3	5	Squad	6	4	1	1	9	3	2021
2023	Group stage	17th	3	0	2	1	5	6	Squad	6	3	3	0	8	3	2023
2025	Did not qualify									6	0	3	3	3	7	2025
2027	To be determined									To be determined
2029	To be determined									To be determined

Total	4 Titles	24/35	105	54	23	28	138	93	–	118	64	29	25	194	85

*Draws include matches decided by penalty shoot-out.

West African Nations Cup and WAFU Nations Cup

West African Nations Cup [SCSA Zone III]

Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
1982	Final	Winner	5	3	2	0	14	8	+6
1983	Final	Winner	4	3	1	0	7	2	+5
1984	Final	Winner	5	2	3	0	9	5	+4
1986	Final	Winner	6	5	1	0	12	2	+10
1987	Final	Winner	5	5	0	0	14	2	+12

Total			25	18	7	0	56	19	+37

West African Football Union Nations Cup

Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
2010	Semi-final	Third place	5	4	0	1	11	3	+8
2011	Semi-final	4th place	4	1	0	3	5	8	−3
2013	Final	Winner	4	3	0	1	9	4	+5

Total			13	8	0	5	25	15	+10

Olympic Games

Olympic Games record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Squad
1900 to 1956	Part of United Kingdom
Rome 1960	Did not qualify
Tokyo 1964	Quarter-finals	7th	4	1	1	2	7	12	Squad
Mexico 1968	Group stage	12th	3	0	2	1	6	8	Squad
Munich 1972	Group stage	16th	3	0	0	3	1	11	Squad
Montreal 1976	Withdrew after qualifying
Moscow 1980	Withdrew after qualifying
Los Angeles 1984	Did not qualify
Seoul 1988	Did not qualify
Since 1992	See Ghana national under-23 football team

Total	Quarter-finals	3/8	10	1	3	6	14	31	–

Team Honours

Continental Titles

CAF African Cup of Nations
- Champions (4): 1963, 1965, 1978, 1982
- Runners-up (5): 1968, 1970, 1992, 2010, 2015
- Third place (1): 2008
CAF African Nations Championship
- Runners-up (2): 2009, 2014
African Games
- Bronze medal (1): 1978

Regional Titles

West African Nations Cup
- Champions (5): 1982, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1987
WAFU Nations Cup
- Champions (2): 2013, 2017
- Runners-up (1): 2019
- Third place (1): 2010