Joe Debrah says after bowing out of the game, he had dreams of becoming a coach but the frustration he was subjected to by the Kwesi Nyantakyi administration forced him to abandon the dream.
Joe Debrah said that after securing a place for his coaching training, he needed a reference letter from the Ghana Football Association to validate his process.
Several attempts to get the FA to grant him the said letter proved futile as neither FA nor his General Secretary came to his aid.
“I wasn’t given the letter. It is the reason I left football completely. I didn’t meet Nyantakyi but I phoned him that I wanted to him and he asked me to speak to Mr. Gyimah (Former GFA General Secretary). I called him but he was just tossing me around. I told him I needed just a letter from the FA to undertake a coaching course but they never helped. It’s in the past so I don’t want to talk about it. I don’t know what’s wrong with the people in charge”, he said.
Joe Debrah is one of many retired Ghanaian footballers who are unhappy with how the GFA treat national stars.
In a recent interview with GhanaWeb, Reverend Kofi Pare bemoaned the apparent lack of respect and recognition for national heroes.
He said: "I totally agree with him (Gyan), just take a look at the situation of Nkrumah not being able to fulfill his promise to us. Even though he is gone, we need to talk about it. Predecessors who came to manage our sports should have taken a look at this. They should have shown concern about former promises to football legends but it seems as if, these things are not important to them."
Rev Pare speaking on Sports Check recalled how the State failed to honor a promise made to the 1963 and 1965 squad that won the AFCON for Ghana.
"The 1965 AFCON wasn't the only time we were promised a reward. In 1963, Nkrumah said we should go and win the Cup and when we come, he was gonna give us houses. A two-bedroom house and a hall. I think that was in 1963..we went and we won. They should have given us the promise but at that time, Nkrumah's case had come and there wasn't anybody to continue and so it was left there," the retired footballer told GhanaWeb.
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